The ‘Lodha Factor’ weighs on BJP ahead of BMC Polls

Mumbai: With the lottery to reserve 50% BMC seats for women due on Tuesday, BJP workers are worried over ticket distributions in Mumbai, given that the decline in MLA numbers in the 2019 Assembly elections is fresh in their collective memories.

While then-CM Devendra Fadnavis had the final say, current Mumbai district president Mangal Prabhat Lodha had played a key role in seat distribution--something that now worries the party cadre as a result of Lodha’s close proximity to the Shiv Sena.

After Narendra Modi swept the Lok Sabha polls bettering his 2014 tally, a confident Fadnavis predicted over 220 MLAs for the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in the 2019 state assemblies. However, the party managed just 105 MLAs--against its previously held 122 spots- -even as Sena bagged 56 MLA seats.

Fadnavis and the BJP high command were informed that Lodha, then south Mumbai vice-president, clearly favoured the Sena conceding the BJP-nurtured Byculla assembly seat to their alliance partner.

“Complaints to Fadnavis and at the national BJP forum were made. The Byculla assembly seat was won by Shiv Sena’s Yamini Jadhav, whose husband Yashwant Jadhav became BMC standing committee chairman,” a BJP leader told First India.

Lodha got rewarded with the Mumbai district president post and will play a bigger role in seat distribution before the BMC elections. “The BJP performed better than Sena (14 MLAs) in the assembly bagging 16 out of the 36 seats but lost ground to our former alliance partner. Aspiring councillors of the BJP, keen to wrest BMC from Shiv Sena, are concerned about his close proximity, even business relationships with leaders from opposition parties, and what this implies,” the leader noted. Lodha could not be reached for comment.