BMC polls: The politics of fear in a melting pot

The Maharashtra municipal elections for 29 corporations, particularly the battle for control of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), are generating significant interest. Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena is allied with the ruling BJP, while the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) is fighting against them. The election is being closely watched due to the re-emergence of the estranged Thackeray cousins, Raj and Uddhav, and unlikely alliances formed in Mumbai since the split of the Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Both parties are vying for the same vote bank, with the BJP employing fear-mongering tactics about a Muslim becoming Mayor. Waris Pathan, an AIMIM leader, declared that a burqewali would be elected Mayor, further fueling the conflict.