BJP to go solo in civic body polls?

Grassroots-level workers and leaders eager to test their mettle in the upcoming BMC elections; high command sends out mixed signals

BJP to go solo in civic body polls?

Grassroots-level workers and leaders eager to test their mettle in the upcoming BMC elections; high command sends out mixed signals

The voice of going solo to the civic polls, scheduled early next year, is getting shriller in the BJP.

A two-day meet, recently organised at Uttan by the Mumbai wing of the BJP to chalk out a strategy for the upcoming BMC elections, saw the grassroots-level workers going vocal about their demand that the party should contest the civic polls all alone.

Even though there are rumours of the BJP forging an alliance with the MNS, top leaders say their bond with the Sena is intact

They were also apprehensive about the growth of the party as it had near skeletal representation in the BMC.

According to a senior BJP leader who attended the meeting, most party workers think that they do not get the opportunity to represent their own party at the grassroots. because the BJP contests fewer seats, while a lion's share goes to the Shiv Sena.

"We have only 28 corporators in the 227-seat corporation. This is not because we lack support base among the general public, it is because we contest fewer number of seats.

Last time, we fought in only 71 seats, which is not even 50 per cent of the total. How do we expect the party to grow at ground level if we do not contest at least 100 of the 227 seats?" he said.

Mixed signals

The lower-rung leaders and workers might be clear on their stand to go solo, but the top leadership is treading cautiously and sending out mixed signals.

After Raj Thackeray's visit to BJP's state headquarters in Nariman Point, speculations were rife that the BJP may forge an alliance with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and sever its ties with 25-year-old ally, the Shiv Sena, if need arises.

When senior party leader Gopinath Munde recently spoke about the possibility of Sena-BJP-MNS alliance during the party's Aurangabad convention, it surely would have sent a shiver down the spine of the Sena.

But the BJP high command in Delhi chose to calm the Sena nerves by saying Munde was just suggesting that if the Opposition comes together, they could easily defeat the Congress.

However, Raj Purohit, the Mumbai BJP president, confirmed that many were talking about fighting the elections alone in the Uttan meeting.
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"There are people everywhere who want to go solo. Even in the Sena there would be many who would like to contest alone," he said, adding that the BJP-Sena alliance was strong and that they were not even thinking of severing ties with its time-tested ally.

This is also being seen as pressure tactics of the BJP to bag more seats in the upcoming elections.

Bharat Kumar Raut, spokesperson of the Sena said, "There are many mouths in the BJP that speak, so we don't know whom to believe. All we know is that the alliance exists as of now and it is going to be intact (in the future)."