EYE ON CIVIC POLLS, BJP WOOS SAI BABA DEVOTEES

MUMBAI: With the BMC elections scheduled in six months, the Mumbai BJP seems to be in an aggressive mode to woo different sections of people.

The latest are the Sai Baba Bhakt Mandals (organisations comprising devotees of Shird Sai Baba) as lakhs of devotees of Sai Baba from Mumbai and Thane undertake a Palki Padya tra (march on foot) to Shirdi in Ahmednagar district during Diwali.

On Wednesday, Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar held a meet ing at Dadar, flanked by the city’s BJP leaders, including state minister Vidya Thakur where the representatives of the various Sai Bhakt mandals par ticipated and demanded facili ties to ease their journey.

The meeting was also attended by BJP leader and developer Suresh Haware, who heads the Sai Baba Sansthan Trust, who assured all help to the devotees.

According to Shelar, it was part of a social initiative under taken by the BJP to reach the various sections of the people.

“Our party is expanding and people from different sections are joining it.

The meeting was an attempt to work out some way to ease the travel of these devotees,” said Shelar.

The devotees who walk for at least a week to Shirdi demanded a dedicated walkway, toilets ambulances, shelters as well as drinking water facilities on their route.

The BJP assured that it wil take its demand to the state gov ernment.

The meeting was attended by at least 60 representatives, who outlined the various problems