A three-time BJP MLA from Mumbai’s Andheri West in Mumbai, Ameet Satam was appointed the party’s Mumbai unit chief last month, with the coming civic body elections in mind. A Maratha leader with an aggressive political style, the 49-year-old Satam was brought in to counter the Marathi pride plank of the Shiv Sena (UBT) of Uddhav Thackeray, which has been negotiating with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena for an alliance.
At a town hall event hosted byThe Indian Express, the BJP leader discusses the coming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, the party’s poll agenda, and why he thinks Mumbai’s identity or character, or the “colour of the city” as he calls it, needs to be protected.
Mumbai BJP chief Ameet Satam at the Express Townhall event in Mumbai. (Express Photo by Sankhadeep Banerjee)
*What are the challenges for the BJP in the coming BMC elections?
Ameet Satam: We will fight the election as Mahayuti. There is no conflict as far as our alliance is concerned. We will try to reach the last Mumbaikar and communicate our agenda. The work that the state and the Centre have done in Mumbai for the last 11 years, be it the Metro, the Atal Setu, or the Coastal Road. A Mumbaikar feels that this kind of work should happen through the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). We have seen visionless and corrupt administration; our agenda is to form a clean and transparent administration in the BMC. Last but not least, to ensure the safety and security of Mumbaikars.
* Shouldn’t the BJP receive a share of the blame, as it was in power along with the undivided Shiv Sena till 2017?
Ameet Satam: Till 2022, the BJP neither had a standing committee chairman nor a mayor. It was always with the Shiv Sena, then led by Uddhav Thackeray. The functioning of the BMC is controlled through the standing committees, the mayor, and the municipal commissioner. It was the responsibility of Thackeray’s Shiv Sena to give direction to the city. The political leadership failed to give a vision for the development of the city. Today, the BMC is linked to negativity. The first challenge is to change that perception.
* What will be your party’s main poll agenda?
Ameet Satam: Development and transparency in administration. A larger issue that Mumbai is facing today is the safety and security of its citizens and protecting the city’s identity. Cities in the West have been invaded by radical fundamentalists. Either the people over there were silent, or the political leadership ignored it, or they are too liberal. The colour of certain cities has changed completely. We want to protect Mumbai from changing its colour. We want to ensure Mumbai is safe and secure and does not face the same kind of invasion as in the West. The ideas are coming through people whom we are asking. Based on their suggestions, we will devise our manifesto and the suggestions will be implemented after our Mayor is elected in the BMC.
* If the colour of Mumbai is at risk, according to you, what was its ‘original colour’?
Ameet Satam: When women walk on the roads wearing gold ornaments and feel secure, it should continue. Our biggest challenge is to protect the identity of the city.
* Aren’t many of those in the Sena whom you accuse of corruption with the Shiv Sena of Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, your ally?
Ameet Satam: Not all of them were with Eknath Shinde, only a few. In the end, the vision matters and we are going to provide the vision under the leadership of Narendra Modi and Devendra Fadnavis.
* Mumbai is known for its cosmopolitanism. If something has changed, who is responsible for it?
Ameet Satam: It is not about minorities but about nationalist sentiments. How can it be tolerated that a person convicted of a bomb blast is doing the campaign for a particular candidate in the election? There is ‘vote jihad’ and we have seen it in the Lok Sabha election.
In Malwani, there are acres of government land that have been acquired and slums and illegal studios have been built on that. If anybody is trying to change the character of the city and identity of the city, then all such efforts and attempts will be thwarted.
* How can the consolidation of Muslim votes be equated to that?
Ameet Satam: We have now realised this pattern of settling people illegally and making them voters. If we take measures to rectify this, then we are branded communal. We are pro-India and if an attempt is made to divide society, we will take a stand.
* How do you see the Maratha reservation and OBC issue playing out in the state, with OBC leaders saying the latest decision will affect them?
Ameet Satam: The government resolution is clear. This does not affect the reservation of OBCs. There can be a wrong perception among people, which we will clarify and explain to people in due course.
* If the Thackeray brothers, Uddhav and Raj, come together, will it have an impact on the BMC elections?
Ameet Satam: There is zero effect, as who is coming together is not important, but who has worked for the city for 11 years and executed several development projects is. In the past few years, Mumbaikars have seen the work we have done and they want to see the same development in the future.
* Isn’t the local BJP worker upset since you also have to accommodate the Sena and the NCP?
Ameet Satam: Every party member has aspirations, but the party doesn’t work on personal aspirations. A BJP worker works for ideology and the last person in the line, and not for themselves. That is the difference between the BJP and other parties. We have good relations with them and when the time comes for seat-sharing, we will work it out. They have five MLAs and we will sit with them and the district chiefs. We will talk and depending on who can win where, seat distribution will take place.
* Does it mean the Shiv Sena will be the junior partner in the civic polls?
Ameet Satam: There is nothing called a younger or elder brother or partner. We are all equal and together. Ultimately, we will have a Mahayuti mayor. The Eknath Shinde-led Sena has a strong structure in Mumbai, with 54 out of 84 corporators with him. The remaining ones will leave the Shiv Sena (UBT).
