BJP Legislators Meet RSS Leaders Ahead of Maharashtra Assembly Elections

As Maharashtra braces for its upcoming assembly elections, BJP legislators from Mumbai engaged in a significant closed-door meeting with RSS leaders on Sunday. The meeting, which took place at Yashwant Bhavan in Lower Parel, Mumbai, spanned over six hours.

The discussions, shrouded in secrecy, left BJP officials tight-lipped about the details. An RSS functionary described the meeting as a routine event, but it is widely seen as a strategic move in light of the forthcoming elections.

Following the meeting, Ashish Shelar, BJP’s Mumbai unit chief and MLA from Bandra, criticized the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) for staging protests over the recent collapse of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's statue in Sindhudurg district. Shelar labeled these protests as politically motivated, suggesting they are designed to sway voter sentiment ahead of the elections.

The recent Lok Sabha elections highlighted challenges for the BJP-led Mahayuti, which includes the Shiv Sena faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the NCP headed by Ajit Pawar. The alliance secured only 17 of Maharashtra’s 48 Lok Sabha seats, while the MVA, which comprises the Congress, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT), and Sharad Pawar’s NCP (SP), won a substantial 30 seats.

The Maharashtra assembly elections, expected in October or November, will be crucial for the BJP. In the last state polls, the party won 16 out of 36 seats in Mumbai. As political tensions rise, both parties are gearing up for a high-stakes contest in the upcoming state elections.

(WIth Agency Inputs)