Shiv Sena plans monthly events to woo Gujarati voters ahead of BMC polls

After their first event in January, the party will now hold the second gathering of the community in Malad (West) on February 7 where 21 Gujarati business owners will join the party. The party, according to its national organiser Hemraj Shah, has planned events in Gujarati-dominated areas in western and central suburbs.

In a bid to woo the Gujarati community, the Shiv Sena has planned an event every month to connect with the community in Mumbai ahead of the 2022 Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election. After their first event in January, the party will now hold the second gathering of the community in Malad (West) on February 7 where 21 Gujarati business owners will join the party. The party, according to its national organiser Hemraj Shah, has planned events in Gujarati-dominated areas in western and central suburbs.

The Shiv Sena had held an event with the tagline — Mumbai ma jalebi ne fafda, Uddhav Thackeray aapda (Jalebi and fafda in Mumbai, Uddhav Thackery is ours), in January in an attempt to reach out to the community. (HT FILE )

For the gathering on Sunday, the Sena has come up with a theme of Raas-Garba — the traditional folk dance of the community. Last month, the Sena held an event with the tagline — Mumbai ma jalebi ne fafda, Uddhav Thackeray aapda (Jalebi and fafda in Mumbai, Uddhav Thackery is ours), in an attempt to reach out to the community.

Shah, a prominent Gujarati face in the Sena, said, “We will hold events for the community every month. Next month we will have one in Goregaon, later in Borivli, Mulund, etc. This time we have kept the theme as garba.”

He said the party aims to expand its base through these events. “Every political party holds programme and events to expand their party base. There is no need to woo the community. The community is smart and votes after careful thought. I am confident that the people would vote for the Shiv Sena as they have appreciated Uddhav ji’s idea of ‘sarva dharma samabhav’ (all religions are equal), and Gujaratis like this,” Shah said.

Retaining power in the Mumbai civic body is going to be a prestige issue for the party. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which bagged almost as many seats as the Sena in the 2017 elections, has started campaigning for the civic polls. The BJP has been attacking the Sena and the Thackeray government on various issues including shifting of the Metro car shed from Aarey to Kanjurmarg.