'WE PROMISE TO GIVE INFRA DEVPT, GRAFT-FREE ADMIN AND SECURITY'

With the elections to the BMC polls almost round the corner, the BJP is going all out to capture the richest civic body in the country with an annual budget of Rs75,000 crore.

- Devashri Bhujbal

In the run up to the polls, the BJP high command has handpicked 49-year-old MLA from Andheri, Ameet Satam, to head the Mumbai unit of the party. A management graduate vastly influenced by Art of Living guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the tough-built legislator who bagged the 'Outstanding Parliamentarian Award' at the hands of the President, Satam dropped in at the FPJ office on Monday for a tete-a-tete. Excerpts:

This is the first BMC election the BJP is fighting without its long-term ally, the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena. Do you feel the breakdown of the alliance and the split in the Sena will result in the division of Hindu votes?

The Shiv Sena-BJP alliance was based on the common ideology of Hindutva, which the Uddhav Thackeray's faction sacrificed and joined hands with the Congress and NCP (Sharad Pawar). We reformed the alliance in 2022, when 44 out of 54 Shiv Sena MLAs joined hands with the BJP. Today, Hindu votes are with the BJP and Shiv Sena, operating on the ideology of Balasaheb Thackeray. Thus, there is no question of division of Hindu votes. The Uddhav Thackeray faction is following the ideology of appeasement politics now.

With the Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS likely to ally, will it be a challenge for Mahayuti to attract Marathi voters?

They may come together or not. It really doesn't bother us. It's not going to make any difference to the poll outcome. What makes a difference is who has done work on the ground.

Will Mahayuti contest the BMC elections together? If yes, how many seats will each party get?