Maharashtra: BJP plans to claw into CM Eknath Shinde's stronghold

THANE: The BJP will reach out to over three lakh households in the city and ensure the Thane Lok Sabha seat is won and it contributes towards anointing Narendra Modi as the prime minister for the third time, party state chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule said.


Bawankule was interacting with the media following a mega voter-approach initiative in Thane ciry- considered as the fiefdom of chief minister Eknath Shinde- Tuesday - where he said that around 600 party volunteers will independently reach out to over 3lakh families staying here and brief them about the achievements of Modi during his tenure. Bawankule was seen interacting with traders and reisdents in old Thane city, Tuesday afternoon following which he addresed activists.

“We want to win the Thane Lok Sabha seat and ensure it is one of the 45 seats from the state that will prove instrumental for Modi to become the PM again. We are working to improve our presence here and aiming to bag the seat by securing atleast 51% of the vote share independently,” he said while addressing the media later.

He however clarified that even if the party was strengthening its muscle here, the preparations were largely for ensuring victory of the alliance candidate as the Lok Sabha seat sharing formula is not yet decided between the three allies. “BjP will put its might behind whoever is assigned the seat to contest the polls as our common intention is to see Modi as the PM again,” he said.

Bawankule also said that while the fight for the 48 Lok Sabha and 288 state Assembly seats will be fought together as an alliance along with their 11 supporters, the choice to contest micro elections, independently or united, will be on local leaders.

Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde will also hold an orientation camp for its activists ahead of rural polls late Tuesday, informed spokesperson Naresh Mhaske. It may be noted the district – initially a BJP stronghold- later became a fortress for the Sena and Shinde who managed to single-handedly managed to retain his dominance in several local polls till now.