Senior BJP leader and cabinet minister Chandrakant Patil expressed strong optimism on Monday about the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation election. He predicted a decisive victory for the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in Mumbai's civic body.
Confident Projections for BMC
Patil shared specific seat projections for the crucial BMC election. He stated the BJP expects to win approximately 90 seats in the 222-member corporation. His alliance partner Shiv Sena should secure about 40 seats according to his assessment.
"The ground reports from all 29 municipal corporations are quite encouraging for the Mahayuti partners," Patil told reporters in Pune. "Though we are not contesting together in all these civic bodies, the mayor in every corporation will be from BJP, Shiv Sena or NCP."
Western Maharashtra Focus
The minister has been assigned responsibility for western Maharashtra by his party. He expressed confidence that Mahayuti partners would sweep all municipal corporations in the region going to polls on January 15.
Patil outlined detailed expectations for several key corporations:
- Pune Municipal Corporation: BJP expected to win around 115 seats
- Pimpri Chinchwad: Between 80 and 85 seats for BJP
- Kolhapur: Mahayuti alliance expected to win at least 65 of 81 seats
- Ichalkaranji: BJP to dominate with around 55 of 65 seats
- Sangli: BJP expects nearly 45 seats despite united opposition
Downplaying Opposition Alliances
The senior BJP member addressed the alliance between Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT) and Raj Thackeray's MNS for BMC and other municipal corporations. He predicted this partnership would have limited impact against the BJP-Sena alliance.
"The Thackeray reunion will not make much of a difference," Patil asserted. "Shiv Sena (UBT) will be reduced to around 45 seats, while MNS will get about 20. Raj has fielded fewer candidates but has secured some key seats through seat-sharing, so his strike rate is likely to be better than that of Uddhav."
Statewide Confidence
Beyond Mumbai and western Maharashtra, Patil expressed confidence in BJP's overall performance across the state. With the BMC drawing statewide attention, he emphasized that the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance was positioned to win comfortably.
The minister noted that securing the mayoral post in BMC requires support from at least 115 corporators. Based on current assessments, he believes the alliance will comfortably cross this threshold with their projected seat counts.
Patil's statements come as Maharashtra prepares for crucial municipal elections that will test political alliances and voter sentiment across the state's urban centers.
