"Fight directly with BJP, Shinde's Sena": Senior NCP leader Nawab Malik ahead of BMC polls

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 5 (ANI): Senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik stated that his party's primary electoral opponents in the 2026 Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections are the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena.
Responding to allegations of diverting minority votes, he said they were not contesting many minority areas.
"On most of the seats, our party is contesting against the BJP and the Shinde's Sena. We are not contesting elections in the minority areas. We are not contesting in Shivaji Nagar's three wards, where the minority is 90 per cent," Malik told ANI.
He added that when the results are out, it will be clear that our direct opponents are the Shinde faction and the BJP.
"Our fight in this election is directly with the candidates of the BJP and Shiv Sena", he added.
Earlier, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the upcoming BMC elections will be "life-changing" for Mumbai and its people.
While addressing a gathering at the NSCI Dome in Worli, he criticised the opposition, saying that the Mahayuti will "teach a lesson" to those who care only about their self-interest.
"We launched our BMC election campaign by breaking a coconut. This election will be a life-changing one for the people of Mumbai and for Mumbai itself. We have to teach a lesson to those who only care about their self-interest," he said.
Fadnavis further slammed the opposition parties for prioritising personal and political interests over public welfare. "There are people who only care about their own self-interest. These people (opposition) are all talk and no action, but now the public will elect those who fulfil their promises, that is, the Mahayuti alliance," he said.
Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde expressed confidence that Mahayuti will secure a decisive victory in the upcoming BMC polls.
Describing the rally as a "victorious gathering", Shinde said the party workers present at the event would ensure victory in the upcoming elections.
Shinde said that more than 68 candidates from the Mahayuti had already been elected unopposed, calling it an unprecedented development in Maharashtra's political history.
"2025 was just the trailer, the main picture is yet to come," he said, asserting that the alliance's approach of "no excuse, on-the-spot decision" had earned public trust.
He said that Mumbai needed to be freed from what he termed "misgovernance", adding, "This time, the saffron flag of the Mahayuti will fly over the BMC, and a Marathi person will become the mayor."
Polling for 29 municipal corporation elections across the state, including Mumbai, Pune, and Pimpri-Chinchwad, will be held on January 15, with vote counting scheduled for January 16. (ANI)