Fadnavis Urges BJP Corporators to Uphold Conduct

 Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday urged the BJP’s 89 newly elected corporators of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to maintain good conduct while dealing with citizens, saying the party’s image depends on their behaviour.

“People judge the BJP by the conduct of its representatives. If a BJP corporator treats citizens well, people will say the BJP is good. If a corporator behaves badly, it is the BJP—not the individual—that earns a bad name,” Mr. Fadnavis said.

Mr. Fadnavis was speaking at a BJP felicitation programme for newly elected corporators at the Vasant Samruti Mumbai BJP office.

The Chief Minister said the Mahayuti had secured a majority in the BMC and that Mumbaikars had reposed their faith in the BJP, believing the alliance could fulfil their aspirations. “The people want us to run the civic body with transparency and integrity,” he said.

Before addressing the corporators, Mr. Fadnavis also spoke to party workers outside the BJP office, reiterating that honesty and behaviour were crucial. “A corporator’s behaviour is very important. People judge us by how we behave,” he said.

Addressing party office-bearers and workers, Mr. Fadnavis said the Mumbai BJP office had long awaited the moment when the party would have its mayor in the civic body. “The BJP has emerged as the largest party in Mumbai, and the Mahayuti has secured a clear majority in the BMC,” he said, adding that late leaders Pramod Mahajan and Gopinath Munde would have been proud of the party’s performance.

He said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP had consistently emerged as the largest party in Mumbai since 2014. “In the 2017 civic elections, we fell short by just two seats; otherwise, we would have been the largest party even then,” he said.

Mr. Fadnavis also said the party had received strong public support for its development agenda.

Taking a swipe at the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), he said the BJP contested 137 seats and won 89 with a 45% vote share, while the Sena (UBT), despite contesting 30% more seats, secured only 27% of the votes. “With a high strike rate and strong public backing, the BJP has achieved this victory,” he said.

He added that the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena had won 29 seats and said several of its candidates had lost by narrow margins. “Our 89 seats are significant, as no party has managed to win as many seats in the last three elections. The BJP achieved this despite contesting fewer seats,” Mr. Fadnavis said.