BJP overhauls organisational set-up to face upcoming Maharashtra local body elections

The BJP has announced the appointment of 58 organisational district heads in Maharashtra and over 100 mandal chiefs for Mumbai ahead of the upcoming local governing body elections including the Mumbai civic bodyThe major takeaway is overhauling the organisational setup for urban areas in the state particularly in Mumbai by adjusting the size of mandals and setting the maximum age limit of 45 years for mandal chiefs to tap young voters party leaders saidMaharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis shared the announcement on appointments on X emphasising that the new district heads will focus on the upcoming Maharashtra local body elections which involve municipal corporations councils and zilla parishadsPreviously one legislative assembly constituency was viewed as one mandal but now each constituency comprises three mandals with each mandal covering two municipal wardsThis creation of new posts will benefit the party in the long run as new leadership will emerge among these people a Mumbai BJP leader told PTIFormer Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC corporator and BJP spokesperson Bhalchandra Shirsat noted that the party has set a maximum age limit of 45 years for mandal chiefsOf the total 108 mandal chiefs in Mumbai onethird are womenThe party strictly maintained that a mandal chiefs age cannot be more than 45 years There are now 108 mandal chiefs in Mumbai of whom some are new and lack sufficient experience But the party remained strict on its principles which would definitely benefit it in the long run Shirsat told PTIHe rued that some capable leaders had to relinquish their posts due to age restrictions noting that the party prioritised its principlesI can say confidently that no other political party in Maharashtra dares to decisively work on the next batch of leadership which will play a crucial role after 10 years The BJP has also taken similar decisions at the state and national levels he statedSpeaking on the upcoming BMC elections Shirsat said the BJP wants to win the Mumbai civic body pols but the changes at the organisational level are bigger than this goalI am confident that the party will get its fresh leadership at the local level from these changes as the voters average age is also lowered More voters are below 60 years of age and we want to tap them by elevating similar age group party workers to leadership roles he added reported PTIAnother BJP leader told PTI that people want change in BMC which was ruled by the Shiv Sena undivided for over two decadesTouted as the richest civic body the BMC has an annual budget of Rs 74427 croreWe feel that the people want change and we are offering some good alternatives To reach out to maximum voters we have created more mandals and chiefs It will definitely make a difference as elections require a huge organisational machinery and we do have it he addedThe Supreme Court last week directed the State Election Commission SEC to hold the longpending Maharashtra local body elections within four monthsWith inputs from PTIatOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params