Will BJP North Indian unit's 26 new offices in Mumbai harm party unity?

The Bharatiya Janata Party is facing a unique problem in Mumbai. Its Uttar Bharatiya (North Indian) wing has decided to set up parallel offices in 26 locations, many of which already have a party office.

After Gujaratis, North Indians make up the biggest voter base for the party in the city. File pic

These locations include even non-North Indian belts like Sewree, Vile Parle, Ghatkopar and Goregaon. The parallel offices, BJP leaders say, will reduce the number of people visiting the main office.

They feel this fear is justified because, after Gujaratis, North Indians make up the biggest voter base for the party in the city. The North Indian wing has decided to open offices in 26 locations and the list of 24 such offices, and the leaders who will be available there, has already been circulated amongst BJP workers.

Some of the offices are even in industrial belts like Kalbadevi, Chinchbunder and Sakinaka. Sources said the brief of the North Indian unit is to get as many people as they can to their offices to solve their problems. This, however, is giving nightmares to others from the BJP.

Cross-purposes
"We have six district offices in Mumbai and every ward has its own office. But, with the North Indian unit coming into the fray, parallel offices of the party will be running right next to each other. This will not help us and, instead, divide people and create more local leaders.

This will lead to ego clashes between leaders heading these offices and those heading the main party ones," said a senior party leader. Another leader said, "Some people in the party have complained about the idea even before the offices have been set up. These offices will lead to confusion, duplication of efforts and wastage of resources."

Officialspeak
Officially, however, the party claims that the offices won't have any impact on the organisation. Niranjan Shetty, spokesperson, BJP Mumbai, said, "It's true that the North Indian Unit of BJP Mumbai is planning to set up its offices in various locations of the city. This will not lead to any problems.

We have many such wings in the party and, with elections looming, we are trying to get more North Indians to the BJP." When Shetty was asked, however, whether other wings of the party like the minority wing, SC/ST wing and others also have offices of their own, he said no and rushed to point out that the North Indian unit's officers will be temporary. Repeated calls to Mohit Kamboj, president of the North Indian wing, went unanswered.