Mira-Bhayander: The Lotus Blooms Here Too!
After registering convincing victories in Nasik, Pune and recently held Panvel Municipal Corporations, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has done it once again. This time the party snatched a mammoth victory in the Mira-Bhayander Municipal Corporation, north of Mumbai Metropolis and has left all other parties including its partner in the Maharashtra and the Central Government nursing their wounds. The Mira-Bhayander elections are perhaps the last major exercise for local self-government supremacy before the next general elections for Lok Sabha and later for the Maharashtra State Assembly. Apart from local BJP leaders and workers, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis deserves three kudos for his triumphs. It seems now Fadnavis has developed habit and skills to win elections whether for Lok Sabha, Assembly, Municipal Corporations, Zilla Parishads or Village Panchayats. This clean record of consecutive victories has sent out an amply clear signal that the BJP is here to stay at all levels.
The Mira-Bhayander Municipal Corporation has always remained overshadowed due to its vicinity to Mumbai on one side and Vasai on the other. However, the tiny urban township has its own identity. The twin-city houses traditional fisher-folk community, Christians, newly habituated Muslims, age-old Gujarati speaking residents, coupled with new towers housing first generation migrants to Mumbai. They live in Mira-Bhayander as they do not afford the housing prices of the Mumbai metropolis. In the 2012 Civic Elections there, the BJP-Sena Alliance had grabbed the power winning 47 seats in the 95-member Civic Body. However, later the two partners in power strained their relationship and thus decided to go on their own in this election. On the other side, the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) also broke their tie-up and contested separately.
Political pundits were of the opinion that the quadruple election would eventually help the Sena as it has the strongest ground net-work. However, the results show that the BJP gained maximum leaving the Sena far behind. The BJP jumped from 32 in 2012 to 61, while the Sena hiked its tally from 15 to 22. This means the BJP is almost three times bigger to the Sena this time and has taken its strength to two third majorities. It means the BJP has proven its unmatchable supremacy over the minds of Mira-Bhayander residents. This became possible because Fadnavis took keen interest in the process of election right from the stage of selection of candidates to the last day campaign in which he addressed two public rallies. These efforts paid rich dividend to the party.
On the other hand, the Sena leadership was banking on the traditional Marathi-speaking loyal voters, were ditched royally by the Marathi speaking electorate also. If you give a cursory look at the voting pattern, you will find that the BJP has made dent in thick Marathi-speaking localities also. It means the Sena leaders attempt to give a Marathi vs. NonMarathi look to the bouts, failed and failed miserably. The speeches of Sena’s top leaders and strategists daring the BJP of dire consequences seem to have failed to attract local residents. The BJP undertook many development projects in the area during the last year. Its leaders vowed to complete the projects in stipulated time to provide better electricity and drinking water supply and also improvement of roads. Residents have decided to trust the BJP at last for one more term.
The Congress that had 18 seats in the dissolved House is reduced to poor ten while the NCP that had emerged the chief Opposition Party with 26 seats has drawn blank. Now the erstwhile ruling forces in Maharashtra and many of its cities need to learn lesion from this election. The NCP does not have any strong local leader in Mira-Bhayander. Thus, the party depends on ruling from Navi Mumbai. This system is now rejected by the voters.
In all with the convincing win in Mira-Bhayander, the BJP has left no room to any other party to complain. Their leaders need to close the doors and do some introspection before they face the electorate hereafter.