Congress formulates 100-day action plan ahead of BMC polls 2022

Days after declaring its intent of contesting the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections independently, the Mumbai Congress has drawn a plan to regain its support base among voters.

In order to reconnect with its voters and reviving its fortune ahead of the BMC polls in 2022, Congress has come up with the most tried and tested plan of wooing city’s slum voters with freebies.

The Congress’ blueprint include free water for all slum-dwellers, regularisation of post-2000 slum homes, and janata darbars across Mumbai where ministers from the party will resolve grievances of the people. On the directives of the party high command, the party has formulated a 100-day action plan to gear up for the 2022 polls.

According to official records, every second person in Mumbai resides in a slum. As per the 2011 Census, around 52.07 lakh people, of the total Mumbai population of 1.21 crore, reside in slum colonies. With legal homes being unaffordable – a chronic issue in Mumbai – the number of slum residents has grown further in the past decade, sources said.

Taking a leaf from AAP’s model in Delhi, the Congress has decided to hold a series of janata darbars across Mumbai, where ministers from the party will go to the people and attempt to resolve their grievances and named it as “Mantri Aaplya Dari (minister at your doorstep) initiative”.

Further, the party plans to conduct district-wise gatherings to enthuse its cadre. According to the blueprint released, Congress president and other party leaders will go on padyatras in various wards to speak to the people.

For the middle class, the Congress has backed the proposal for a complete waiver of property tax for all houses of 500 square feet or less. The BMC had passed a resolution to this effect before the 2019 Assembly polls, but is yet to implement it.

While Sena has indicated that it wants all Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) constituents to contest the BMC polls in an alliance, Jagtap reiterated that the Mumbai Congress was firmly of the view that the party should go it alone.