BMC polls: BJP releases 1st list of candidates

Mumbai: The BJP on Tuesday released the first list of 32 candidates, including 13 women, for the February 16 elections to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Mumbai BJP President Raj Purohit, who released the list, said the party has decided not to give tickets to relatives of the leaders.

"We have given opportunity to over 20 new faces in which 13 are women," he said.

Ten sitting BJP Corporators, including Deputy Mayor Shailaja Girkar, have been fielded again.

The Election Committee of BJP will meet on January 26 to finalise the second list of nominees, Purohit said.

BJP will contest 63 seats, while alliance partners Shiv Sena and RPI fight in 135 and 29 seats, respectively, in the 227-member civic body.

Shiv Sena, which is ruling the India's richest civic body in alliance with BJP for the last 15 years, is reluctant to abolish octroi, saying it the biggest source of revenue for BMC, whose annual budget tops Rs 20,000 crore.

"Octroi has been abolished in Ahmedabad and other cities, but it has not stopped revenue generation. An alternative to octroi should be found," Purohit added.