BMC Polls: Thackeray's Marathi Imprint vs. BJP's Non-Marathi Priority Sparks Debate

• Thackeray's Shiv Sena announced 75 candidates for BMC elections, emphasizing Marathi, women (40), and Muslim (6) representation.
• BJP released its first list of 66 candidates, with 20 tickets given to non-Marathi individuals like Jitendra Patel and Rani Trivedi.
• Thackeray's strategy focuses on 'Four M's' (Mumbai, Marathi, Mahila, Muslim) to secure traditional vote banks.
• BJP aims to consolidate non-Marathi votes, balancing Marathi sentiment with diverse representation.
• The candidate lists highlight contrasting strategies by both parties to win the BMC elections, with an eye on past Lok Sabha trends.

Why It Matters: Thackeray's Shiv Sena and BJP adopt contrasting candidate strategies for BMC polls, targeting distinct vote banks.