BJP sweeps housing federation polls against Shiv Sena in Mumbai district

The BJP-led front won all 25 seats of the federation, which is the apex body of the co-operative housing societies spread across Mumbai.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led panel swept the Mumbai District Co-operative Housing Federation elections on Sunday, defeating the Shiv Sena-led panel.

The BJP-led front won all 25 seats of the federation, which is the apex body of the co-operative housing societies spread across Mumbai. This election saw intense campaigning by both the panels led by the saffron allies.

This election was important as 22,000 cooperative housing societies in Mumbai are members of this federation and they are expected to play a vital role in the 2019 Lok Sabha and state assembly polls.

The BJP panel was promoted by their legislators Prasad Lad and Pravin Darekar, who are also directors of Mumbai Bank. Lad credited the Devendra Fadnavis-led state government’s housing policy for this sweep. “The various measures undertaken like hike in FSI (floor space index), ease of permissions and emphasis on affordable housing by our government ensured our win,” said Lad. “This will also impact the 2019 polls,” he added.

Mumbai votes in 6 MPs and 36 legislators. The housing societies form a part of the urban middle class vote bank, which is considered a saffron support base.

The federation is an apex body that had become virtually defunct in the past few years. The ruling BJP plans to resurrect its authority. Every housing society in Mumbai is mandated to become a member of this federation, which is supposed to take up issues with the state government regarding problems faced by them.

According to Ramesh Prabhu, chairman, Maharashtra Societies Welfare Association, getting elected to the federation is beneficial to political parties. “It ensures clout for the party as there are more housing societies coming up by the day. BJP will get access to housing societies and this means a bigger connect with residents,” said Prabhu.