Mumbai civic polls: BJP expects at least 55 per cent turnout, sure of win

Mumbai: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is expecting at least 55 per cent voter turnout in Tuesday's Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections and has appointed one person per 200 voters to ensure they exercise their franchise.

"Mumbai unit of the BJP has decided to appoint one booth level party worker behind 200 voters. The party worker is asked to concentrate on his or her 200 voters alone. Our worker will ensure that all the 200 voters will vote and they will report to their seniors accordingly," the BJP chief spokesperson Madhav Bhandari said on Monday.

This system requires a mammoth manpower of some 6,000 workers to track the voters, followed by our other community-based functionaries who will also mobilise the voters, he said.

"The efforts are being taken to increase the polling percentage, which is generally below 50%. We are expecting at least 55% turnout tomorrow," Bhandari said, adding the BJP will emerge as the number one party.

For the BJP, the stakes are high for the polls as it is pitted against its alliance partner, the Shiv Sena on its home turf of Mumbai.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is pulling out all the stops to capture power at the country's richest civic body and attacked the Uddhav Thackeray-led party relentlessly during the campaigning.

When asked if the politics of identity will weigh on the polls, Bhandari said, "This is not going to be a major issue. BJP has given some representation to North Indian community and they will support us."

On the role of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, which has been reduced to a marginal player, the BJP leader said the Raj Thackeray-led outfit would not play a role of spoiler.