"Will achieve bigger victory in municipal election": Amit Shah says to Maharashtra party leaders

Ahilyanagar (Maharashtra) [India], January 12 (ANI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday exuded confidence that the Bharatiya Janata Party will win the upcoming Mumbai Municipal Corporation elections in an even huge manner than the last Maharashtra assembly elections.
Shah was addressing state party leaders and workers at the conclusion of the party's state convention today, the 'Shirdi Maha Adhiveshan' in Shirdi town of Ahilyanagar district.
"We are going to achieve an even bigger victory in the upcoming municipal elections. I am ready for seeing that victory in Maharashtra, and it (assembly election victory) was achieved because of you," Shah said during his speech.
He further mentioned how the party workers were dejected after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, as they 'faced a defeat' in the state.
"We Won 17 out of 48 Lok Sabha seats. Though we passed the test, we failed in our hearts," Shah said.
He however then said that the party bounced back in the assembly elections.
In the Lok Sabha Elections which concluded in June 2024 in Maharashtra, BJP won 9 out of forty eight parliamentary constituencies. Their allies, Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party won 7 and 1 seats respectively, bringing the total to 17 seats.
Shah also expressed confidence in BJP winning multiple other elections in all levels, including panchayat, assembly and national elections.
"I want to tell my workers that the chain of development is possible only when you wave the saffron flag from the Panchayat to the Parliament. BJP from the Panchayat to the Parliament, BJP in Maharashtra and BJP in the country," Shah said.
"Maharashtra's grand victory has brought the country's politics back on track. The architects of this success are BJP workers. I salute all of you and thank the people of Maharashtra on behalf of the BJP. This victory is a hard slap on the face of those who engage in family politics," Shah said while addressing the state party leaders.
"We all know that the basis of our party's work is organization. The foundation of our winning elections is our strong organization. Our warrior at the booth is our commander," he added.
The Home Minister described the huge victory by the 'Mahayuti' alliance in Maharashtra, as a "milestone" that put the country's politics "back on track". He also praised BJP workers for their role in achieving this decisive mandate.
He further criticised the INDIA bloc parties, saying that their alliance has now disintegrated.
"Today the INDI alliance has completely disintegrated. Mumbai is going to have elections and Shivsena UBT and Congress are preparing to contest alone. Just like you gave us a grand victory in Maharashtra, in the same way, on February 8, 2025, the BJP government is going to be formed in Delhi. 2024 ended with victory of Maharashtra and 2025 will begin with BJP's Delhi Victory," the minister said.
On January 11, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MP Sanjay Raut announced that his party would be contesting the Mumbai municipal corporations without having an alliance with Congress.
"We will fight Mumbai and Nagpur Municipal Corporation on our own, whatever happens will happen. We have to see for ourselves. We will fight Nagpur on our own. Uddhav Thackeray has given us a signal. I just now discussed it with our city Shiv Sena chief Pramod Manmode," Raut told reporters.
The senior Shiv Sena (UBT) leader said that the decision comes with the view of strengthening the party at the local level. He said that workers don't get a chance to contest in general and assembly elections.
Raut said, "In the alliance, the workers do not get a chance to fight in the Lok Sabha and the Legislative Assembly. This is affecting the party, in fact, the growth of the party. We should fight in the Municipal Corporation, Zilla Parishad and Nagar Panchayat on our own and strengthen our party."

The dates for the Mumbai Municipal elections are yet to be announced by the Election Commission. (ANI)