“Mayor should be a Marathi”: BJP MLA Shelar

Backing the Chief Minister’s statement on making the Mumbai mayor a hindu-marathi, BJP MLA Ashish Shelar said, “We are very clear that the son of the soil, the marathi, is a natural choice in leadership of Maharashtra and Mumbai.”

Shelar, who was re-elected in the 2024 Maharashtra elections representing the Bandra West constituency, supported CM Devendra Fadnavis’s proclamation on the criteria of choosing a Mayor for the city amidst debates of language and religious politics.

“Language is a very important part as far as the governance, culture and the spirit of this soil is concerned,” said Shelar.

When asked about language power dynamics, he stated that while BJP is in favour of a Marathi mayor, “we are not to have a dispute or quarrel about the language.” He further affirmed, “Marathi is Mumbai’s language but we are not against any other language.”

Shelar claims that the Mahayuti alliance stands strong on ground level and that the coalition has delivered the best for Mumbai. Taking a dig at the opposition, he added, “Comparing any other regime in the corporation or in the state government, those who want to do justice and better city governance in Mumbai, Mahayuti stands outstandingly best (sic).”

After a long delay of 3 years, the BMC elections are finally to be held on January 15, 2025 with 24 wards under 227 electoral constituencies electing one corporator each. 

Written by PG Diploma in Journalism Students, Stency Samson, Tirtharaj Ghosal