September 23, 2025: With the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections approaching, the BJP is intensifying its campaign to secure control of the country’s wealthiest civic body, which has an annual budget of Rs 75,000 crore. To spearhead its Mumbai unit, the party has appointed 49-year-old Andheri MLA Ameet Satam, a management graduate influenced by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and recipient of the “Outstanding Parliamentarian Award.”
Speaking on the upcoming polls, Satam dismissed concerns about the division of Hindu votes after the BJP’s split with the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena. “Today, Hindu votes are with the BJP and Shiv Sena, operating on the ideology of Balasaheb Thackeray. Thus, there is no question of division of Hindu votes. The Uddhav Thackeray faction is following the ideology of appeasement politics now,” he said.
On the possibility of a Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS alliance, Satam remarked, “They may come together or not. It really doesn’t bother us. Because it is not going to make any difference to the poll outcome. What makes a difference is who has done work on the ground.”
He confirmed that Mahayuti partners—BJP, Shiv Sena, NCP, and RPI (A)—would contest all 227 seats, with seat-sharing based on local strengths.
Outlining key promises, Satam said, “First is infrastructure development on the lines of Coastal Road, Atal Setu, Navi Mumbai Airport, and Mumbai Metro. Secondly, we aim to give corruption-free and transparent administration in the BMC, which was lacking from 1997 to 2022. And the third promise will be the safety and security of Mumbaikars.”
Satam also pledged pothole-free roads within five years, hawker zones through vending committees, underground parking solutions, and stricter pollution controls. On healthcare, he stressed the need to train hospital staff in soft skills. “We are already teaching soft skills to the staff at Cooper Hospital,” he added.
Source: The Free Press Journal
