Mumbai BMC Elections: Pragmatic Politics Overrides Religious Rhetoric
The recent Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections in Mumbai featured prominent religious rhetoric, yet political parties demonstrated a practical approach to increase their numbers. They strategically fielded candidates across religious boundaries, focusing on electoral gains rather than strict ideological lines.
Crossing Religious Lines for Electoral Success
While the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen secured eight corporators, one of them is a Dalit candidate. Vijay Ubale, a 33-year-old from Govandi, represents this diverse selection. Both factions of Shiv Sena actively promoted several Muslim candidates during the campaign. Two Muslim candidates from Shiv Sena (UBT) emerged victorious in their respective wards.
Many winning candidates reported concentrating on local issues and development work instead of engaging in religious or linguistic identity politics. This ground-level focus appears to have resonated with voters across communities.
Vijay Ubale's Remarkable Victory
Vijay Ubale stands out among the newly elected corporators. With declared assets totaling just Rs 1.5 lakh and no house in his name, he ranks among the poorest members of the BMC. Ubale had served as a local AIMIM office bearer since 2022 and expressed his desire to contest these elections. The party responded positively to his request.
"We placed the Constitution ahead and talked about social justice," Ubale explained. "So, we didn't feel there was any issue during the campaign. Now, Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste communities are finding a connect with AIMIM."
Ubale secured his seat by 1,523 votes, defeating Sena's Sonali Jadhav and Sena (UBT)'s Siddharth Usture. This particular ward had been won by the undivided Nationalist Congress Party in the 2017 elections.
Shiv Sena's Strategic Moves
In Vikhroli's ward 124, Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Sakina Ayub Shaikh achieved a significant victory margin over Sena's Jyoti Khan. Khan had previously secured this seat in 2017 while representing NCP. Following her win, Shaikh attended a meeting with senior party leaders at Shiv Sena Bhavan in Dadar on Sunday.
Another minority community corporator from Shiv Sena (UBT) is Zeeshan Changez Multani, representing ward 62. This ward was won in 2017 by his family member, Multani Changej Jamal, who contested as an independent candidate at that time.
Shiv Sena (UBT) strategically brought Jamal into their fold this election cycle. This move aimed specifically to defeat party rebel Raju Pednekar, a former Thackeray loyalist. Pednekar had contested and lost the 2024 assembly polls as an independent after his ticket request was denied. He has since joined Shiv Sena.
Competitive Contests Across Wards
Although Shiv Sena's Muslim candidates did not secure victories across the board, they put up strong fights in several constituencies. In ward 92, located in Bharat Nagar near Bandra Kurla Complex, candidate Salim Qureshi lost to Congress despite receiving campaign support from Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde himself.
"The work done on the ground matters," Qureshi remarked. "Shinde saheb came for my campaign and promised to resolve one of the issues, and it was addressed immediately." Interestingly, Qureshi's wife had won this same seat for AIMIM in the 2017 elections.
The BMC election results reveal a complex political landscape where parties balance religious considerations with practical electoral strategies. While religious rhetoric surfaced during campaigns, the actual candidate selection and voter responses suggest a focus on local governance and development issues.
