BMC Elections
- Past BMC Election Results
- Know your Booth Location
- Standing Committee Members
- BMC Elections 2017 Delimitation
- New Ward List Civic Elections 2025
- New Wards Maps for BMC Elections 2025
- BMC Election 2025 Date
- CEO Maharashtra
- Know Your BMC
- BMC News & Updates
- Wards
- Candidates
- Mumbai Corporators
- Advertise
- Contact
- Volunteer
- Privacy Policy
Congress and SP face heat from MIM, its Battle for Muslim votes this BMC Elections
- by Webdesk
- 10 Dec 2016
In as many as 30 seats in the BMC Electoral wards, the Muslim community holds a lot of importance in deciding the victorious candidates and the parties across the board are trying to woo this community.
Political pundits point out that with Shiv Sena and BJP likely to contest together, the ‘Muslim factor’ will play a key role in deciding who will come to power in the BMC. Especially since Congress and Samajwadi Party (SP), which have traditionally enjoyed Muslim support, now face the challenge from All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM).
SP’s Rais Shaikh, who is planning to contest from Madanpura, said that he was confident of getting the community support. “A big group of MIM workers including Sameer Thakur and Saeed Moosa are joining SP. We have no threat from MIM at all. We are a party that has worked for the community and people have seen our work. We are not asking for votes based on fear but development,” Shaikh said.
“We have a stronghold in localities where North Indians are in large numbers. Some of them are Sewri, Wadala, Kurla, Dharavi, Govandi, Mankhurd, Shivaji Nagar, Bandra East and Jogeshwari,” state SP chief Abu Azmi said.
Meanwhile, Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam is confident that the Muslims will back them this time around as well. “The Muslims will back the Congress They will not trust the MIM since it has failed to deliver on all fronts. The MIM has no presence in most Muslim dominated areas. They are active only in certain pockets,” he said.
AIMIM, which is being led by firebrand legislator Waris Pathan, will contest BMC polls for the first time, and is expecting a big debut haul of at least 20 seats. The party won 40 seats in the recent council polls in the state.
“People have lost faith in parties like BJP, SP and Congress, who have contributed nothing but scams. Despite having no corporators, we have worked on potholes, fought to increase funds for building repairs and more cemeteries,” Pathan said.
The party will decide on the candidate at the right time but will give tickets to Dalits and Muslims, he said.
According to MIM leaders, the party could bag seats in areas like Golibar, Bharat Nagar, Jogeshwari, Juhu Galli in Andheri, Malad and Naupada.
Even right parties like Sena and BJP are reaching out to Muslims. Shiv Sena is set to field Miraj Shaikh from Bandra (East) and BJP is screening potential Muslim candidates. “But I don’t think that the community will prefer such new candidates. They will choose candidates based on performance and the issues that have been resolved. Muslim votes have become prized but I don’t think there will be block voting for any one party,” said Sarfaraz Arzu, editor of Urdu daily Hindustan.
Image Courtesy:
Related News
This article is based on publicly available information from credible sources (as mentioned above) and has been restructured using a combination of AI tools and manual editorial inputs to enhance clarity and readability. While we aim to maintain accuracy, there may be unintentional errors or misinterpretations. If you come across any incorrect or misleading information, please report it to us at info@bmcelections.com.
Copyright © 2026 All Rights Reserved | BMC Election