'Zero plus zero equals zero', BJP shreds Thackeray alliance as BMC campaigning ends today

Mumbai, Jan 13 (IANS) As the campaigning for the high-stakes elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) concludes on Tuesday evening, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has unleashed a blistering counter-offensive against the recently reunited Thackeray brothers under the "Marathi Manus" and "Save Mumbai" planks.

The BJP’s response has been primarily led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister Piyush Goyal, focused on dismissiveness, development-centric rhetoric, and questioning the credibility of the Thackeray alliance.

Responding to allegations of a "conspiracy to break Mumbai", Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and senior BJP leaders have dismissed the Thackeray narrative as a "desperate act of political survival".

He labelled their claim -- that the BJP intends to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra -- a "fake narrative" designed to mislead voters. "The threat is not to Mumbai; the threat is to your (Thackerays') political survival," CM Fadnavis declared, asserting that the cousins have "no development work to show" and are resorting to emotional blackmail.

Union Minister Piyush Goyal took a swipe at the alliance, stating that "zero plus zero equals zero," suggesting the combined strength of the Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) would not impact the Mahayuti’s chances. On the other hand, CM Fadnavis played old video clips of Uddhav and Raj Thackeray at the Mahayuti’s joint rally, attacking each other during their two-decade estrangement to highlight their current alliance as opportunistic and "deceitful”.

To refute the "one-corporate-house" favouritism claim and charges of “cronyism”, CM Fadnavis cited a list of 25 industrial houses that grew by 250 per cent to 1,100 per cent under the current administration, framing it as national economic growth rather than cronyism. He further added that it was a part of India's climb to the world’s third-largest economy.

The chief minister accused Uddhav Thackeray of "compromising the Hindutva legacy" of Bal Thackeray by previously aligning with the Congress party, while asserting that for the BJP, Marathi pride and Hindutva are inseparable. The BJP also moved to neutralise Thackeray's "Marathi Manus" card by making a bold electoral pledge. The Mahayuti has explicitly promised that the next Mumbai Mayor will be a Marathi Hindu, effectively challenging the Shiv Sena(UBT)’s monopoly on Marathi identity.

Further, CM Fadnavis and Union Minister Goyal emphasised that the BJP views North Indians and other communities who have lived in Mumbai for generations as "100 per cent Mumbaikars", contrasting this with what they called the "divisive" politics of the MNS.

The campaign has also seen personal jibes, most notably Raj Thackeray’s "Rasmalai" comment directed at BJP leader K. Annamalai. The BJP responded by calling the remark "ignorant" and "anti-growth", with Annamalai challenging the Thackeray brothers to focus on the city's future rather than historical grievances.