Mumbai: The campaigning for the municipal corporation elections in Maharashtra concluded on Tuesday. Rallies, roadshows, and mutual accusations have all stopped, but door-to-door campaigning will continue. Meanwhile, in an exclusive interview with ‘ETV Bharat’, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis claimed that the MahaYuti alliance would secure the mayor’s post in 26 out of 29 municipal corporations.
During the interview, Fadnavis made claims about the results of the municipal corporation elections in the state. He also discussed the future of Raj Thackeray’s party, the position of Marathi voters in Mumbai, the impact of the NCP’s two factions uniting, and Ajit Pawar’s loss of temper during the elections.
After the conclusion of his election campaigns, he claimed that the MahaYuti alliance would form the government in 26 out of 29 municipal corporations. He did not specify which three municipal corporations the BJP would lose. A ​​crucial factor in this election is which party the Marathi voters support. For some years, this group of voters has been seen to vote for the Uddhav Thackeray faction.
On this, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the Marathi issue would not be a major factor for the Thackeray brothers in this election. He said, “It is a misconception of the Thackeray brothers that a large group of Marathi voters votes for them.” He said that the BJP has a stable base of Marathi voters. He further added that ‘floating voters’ are sometimes in favor of the BJP and sometimes not, but he expressed confidence that their mood is currently in favor of the BJP. In the last election, these voters were seen to be in favor of the BJP, but now MNS chief Raj Thackeray and UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray have formed an alliance.
It is being said that this will have an impact on Marathi voters. On this issue, Fadnavis said, “If Raj Thackeray joins hands with Uddhav Thackeray, it will not make any difference. Raj Thackeray will face the biggest defeat in this election. Conversely, Uddhav Thackeray will benefit from Raj.” He further said, “In the last few elections, we have seen a pattern where Muslim voters have voted to defeat the BJP. Therefore, Muslim voters will be strategic.” Devendra Fadnavis also said, “Thackeray is not a brand. Hindu Hriday Samrat Balasaheb Thackeray was a brand. Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray are not brands.”
Furthermore, Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar was accused of pressuring the Election Commission. Responding to this, CM Devendra Fadnavis said, “An FIR has been registered against those who made allegations against Rahul Narvekar because they had no evidence.”
“We had decided that we would not criticize each other during the election campaign, but Ajit Pawar lost his temper,” Fadnavis said, taking a dig at Ajit Pawar. When asked if they would include Ajit Pawar’s party if they needed a majority in the future, Fadnavis said, “We will take everyone along in the municipal elections, but we won’t need to include Ajit Pawar. We will get a majority in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. We won’t need it in Mumbai either. If the voter turnout is good, we will win comfortably.”
