MUMBAI: Love him or hate him, you just cannot ignore Malad MLA Aslam Shaikh. A master strategist and planner, he has time and again proved that he is a major force to reckon with on the political arena, defeating bigger opponents with much deeper pockets.
And now with the the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections less than a month away, the Mumbai Congress unit has geared up for action with MLA Shaikh ably playing the role of chief strategist, kingmaker and even mastermind. While the party negotiates its path over a dangerous wicket, leading from the front is MRCC (Mumbai Regional Congress Committee) treasurer and Malad (West) MLA Aslam Shaikh and his team of strategists who have chalked out a master plan for the Mumbai North West and Mumbai North region.
Not just that, MLA Aslam Shaikh has taken over the mantle and responsibility of candidate selection and interviews. While the entire top brass in the MRCC is involved, one candidate told us how Aslam Shaikh has been calling the shots, grilling the candidates and asking tough questions. It is not yet certain if the Congress in Mumbai will go solo or team up with others in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) block.
A 3-time MLA Aslam bhai (as he is known in Malwani) is a known strongman in the Malad and Kandivali West localities, and with the added role of treasurer of the Mumbai unit of the party, he has chalked out and drafted a master plan to send the BJP packing in the entire North West and Mumbai North region.
Shaikh and his team have planned a massive outreach program in the entire suburbs, from Andheri to Dahisar on the Western belt. Congress workers are reaching out to people and corner meetings and Block level committee meetings are being held regularly. Malwani, which is Shaikh’s fiefdom has seen the BJP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena trying to make gains. This was abundantly evident during the last Maharashtra Assembly Elections, when the BJP bettered its performance, compared to previous years.
While the BJP is also aggressive and active since the last few months in the Western Suburbs, Shaikh has set up a team to counter the BJP onslaught. Congress workers – particularly the Aslam Shaikh warriors or Aslam Shaikh Sena – as they are known in Malwani are now tracking every move made by the BJP and countering it with moves of their own.
As the State Election Commission (SEC) has just announced the dates for the BMC polls on January 15, Shaikh’s team is now into full overdrive in the entire Malad and Malwani belt, which includes Malad S.V. Road, Evershine Nagar and even parts of Kandivali West.
Aslam Shaikh’s is targeting a massive win the Mumbai North West and Mumbai North regions. It remains to be seen how the BJP will counter or try to checkmate this aggressive strategist and mastermind that Aslam Shaikh is known to be over the years.
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