Mumbai is voting today to decide which party will control the country’s richest civic body the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation or BMC.
Image source : Hindustan Times
The on-going elections will be a trial of survival for the ruling Shiv Sena while ally Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), which is now the dominant partner in Maharashtra, is seeing the electoral battle to take control of Asia’s richest civic body to create space for itself in the city’s political landscape.
Political observers say the election will primarily be a Shiv Sena versus BJP battle.
Let’s check, what makes a municipal poll big enough to shake state & national alliances?
The Fight
Image source : India Today
Elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) or Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) the civic body that governs Mumbai happen today i.e. – on Feb 21, 2017
Its Pouring BRICKBATS
‘Like there is tenure of election code, there is tenure of this notice period’
-Uddhav Thakeray saying Maharashtra Govt. was on a ‘NOTICE PERIOD”
“My Govt. will survive even if the Sena pulls out
-Devendra Fadnavis
The Reason
BMC is the Richest Municipal Body of India’s Commercial Capital
The Prize
BMC’s budget is more than that of some states
Size of 2016-17 budget in Rupees Cr
The Power play
BMC elections are really big and is powerful politically
60 of 288 MLAs in Maharashtra assembly come from the Mumbai region
11 of 48 MPs that Maharashtra sends to parliament are from Mumbai region
Friends or Foes?
BJP is the senior partner in Maharashtra assembly but was the junior partner in BMC
Assembly :
BJP (122) + Shiv Sena (63)
BJP won 15 of 36 assembly seats from Mumbai, one more than Shiv Sena
BMC:
Shiv Sena (75) + BJP (31)
Other Teams
The other parties in the fray are Congress, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
There are chances that as in assembly polls, NCP will show up as a potential spoiler for Shiv Sena
Party/ No. of corporators ( 2012 BMC polls)
MNS- 27
NCP- 7
Independents- 28
Halfway mark – 114
Bombay meri Jaan
A hold over Mumbai will allow the BJP govt. in the state to govern more peacefully; but the big question is “WILL IT BE ABLE TO?”
Feature image source : http://www.colourentice.com
News Information :- India Today