50% BEST Fare Cut, Slum-Free Mumbai: Mahayuti Releases Manifesto For High-Stakes BMC Polls

New Delhi: Ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections slated to take place on January 15 (Thursday), Mahayuti- a coalition of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena in Maharashtra- launched its much-awaited poll manifesto on Sunday.

The manifesto promised a set of new initiatives, including an interest-free Rs 5 lakh loan for women, slum-free Mumbai and an AI tool to identify illegal immigrants.

The electoral manifesto was launched in the presence of top leaders, including CM Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, and other senior officials like Ramdas Athawale and Vinod Tawde.

Jibe at Uddhav Thackeray

Chief Minister Fadnavis stated that the manifesto focuses on enhancing the quality of life for Mumbaikars through development. He also contrasted Mahayuti's approach with Uddhav Thackeray’s, asserting that his alliance prioritizes both development and Hindutva.

He added, "We have tried to make the daily lives of Mumbaikars easy. Uddhav Thackeray doesn't speak on development. We are unapologetic about Hindutva, but we speak 95% on development,” stated media reports.

50% fare discount

CM Fadnavis unveiled a major upgrade to Mumbai's suburban rail network and a 50% fare discount for women on BEST buses. The plan also includes expanding water transport services and doubling the BEST bus fleet to 10,000 vehicles. Additionally, he announced a partnership with IIT Bombay to deploy advanced AI tools for identifying illegal infiltrators."

The Chief Minister committed Rs 17,000 crore aiming to enhance air and water quality while significantly lowering carbon emissions.

Underlining the manifesto, Shinde added that in the past three-and-a-half years, they have done a lot for Mumbai, which is the country’s growth engine, and the manifesto reflects that. He also said that Marathi people who have left Mumbai will be brought back.

BMC elections

The Maharashtra State Election Commission has announced elections to 29 municipal corporations across the state, including the BMC, Pune Municipal Corporation, and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation. Mumbai will see polling across 227 electoral wards on January 15, with counting scheduled for January 16. 

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