With the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections gathering momentum, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday intensified grassroots outreach by visiting several Shiv Sena branches across North Mumbai. Shinde interacted with party workers in Dahisar, Borivali, Kandivali, Malad and Magathane, urging unity and aggressive mobilisation ahead of the civic polls scheduled for January 15.

Referring to the announcement of the municipal elections, Shinde said the political atmosphere in Mumbai had clearly heated up. Using a colloquial metaphor, he remarked that the betel nut had been split and the wedding rush had begun, signalling that the real political contest was now underway.

He appealed to Shiv Sainiks to work together with discipline and commitment to ensure the saffron flag is hoisted over the civic body. Stressing organisational strength, Shinde said the coming weeks would be crucial in determining who controls the country’s richest municipal corporation.

During his interactions, Shinde highlighted the development work carried out during his two and a half year tenure as Chief Minister, followed by initiatives taken under Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and the Mahayuti government. He said citizens of Mumbai were aware of the scale of work undertaken across the city during this period.

According to Shinde, key civic issues such as housing, redevelopment, infrastructure and basic amenities remain at the top of the government’s agenda. He said the government has taken several important decisions to fulfil the dream of home ownership for citizens.

Shinde specifically referred to initiatives aimed at creating a slum free Mumbai, resolving long pending concerns of residents living in and around the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, and accelerating redevelopment of old and dilapidated settlements. These measures, he said, reflect the government’s commitment to inclusive urban development.

Reiterating confidence in the ruling alliance, Shinde said the Mahayuti government has been functioning capably across the state and expressed optimism that it would return to power in the civic body as well. He described the alliance’s vision as a double engine government that would now develop Mumbai at the speed of a triple engine.

Appealing to party workers, Shinde called for a massive victory on January 15 and said celebrations should follow the declaration of results the next day.

Several party leaders, including MLA Prakash Surve, Yuva Sena core committee member Raj Surve, Shiv Sena spokesperson Sheetal Mhatre, division chief Swapnil Tambwekar and local office bearers, were present during the interactions.

Mumbai: Mumbai began Thursday on a relatively cool and crisp note, offering residents a brief glimpse of winter-like comfort. Clear skies, light winds and lower humidity made for a pleasant early morning. However, the relief was short-lived as a visible layer of smog soon settled over the city, reducing visibility and once again underscoring Mumbai’s worsening air pollution crisis.

Despite favourable weather conditions forecast by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), air quality quickly emerged as the city’s biggest concern. The IMD had predicted a bright and comfortable day, with temperatures expected to hover between 17°C and 34°C. Yet, commuters, morning walkers and schoolchildren stepping out early were greeted by hazy surroundings and an acrid smell in the air, particularly in traffic-heavy corridors and low-lying areas.

According to data from air quality monitoring platform AQI.in, Mumbai’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 254 during the early hours, placing it in the ‘unhealthy’ category. After showing signs of improvement over the past few weeks, pollution levels have once again deteriorated. Such AQI levels pose health risks to all residents, with children, senior citizens and those suffering from respiratory or cardiac ailments being especially vulnerable.

The renewed spike in pollution is largely being attributed to construction dust and fine particulate matter. Massive government-led infrastructure projects, including metro rail corridors, flyovers, coastal road extensions and extensive road-widening works, continue across the city. These, coupled with aggressive private real estate development, are releasing large volumes of dust into the atmosphere. Vehicular emissions during peak traffic hours are further compounding the problem, especially at key junctions.

Several areas emerged as major pollution hotspots. The Wadala Truck Terminal recorded a worrying AQI of 407, categorised as ‘hazardous’, indicating conditions that can seriously impact even healthy individuals. Chembur and Colaba followed with AQI readings of 328 and 318, respectively, both falling in the ‘severe’ category. Sion registered an AQI of 317, while Worli, a prominent commercial and residential hub, recorded 308.

Suburban areas fared marginally better, though pollution remained widespread. Kandivali East logged an AQI of 107 and Goregaon East stood at 130, both categorised as ‘poor’. Other areas such as Parel-Bhoiwada (153), Borivali West (177) and Charkop (187) also slipped into the poor range, reflecting the citywide spread of pollution.

For context, AQI levels between 0–50 are considered good, 51–100 moderate, 101–150 poor, 151–200 unhealthy and anything above 200 hazardous. With large parts of Mumbai hovering at or above unhealthy levels, concerns are growing over the long-term health implications as winter progresses and pollution episodes become more frequent.

Mumbai: The Mumbai Municipal Corporation elections have been called but the political parties have not yet reached an electoral agreement. The Maha Vikas Aghadi and Mahayoti have started holding meetings regarding the electoral agreement, but despite this, no conclusion has been reached by all the parties, due to which the electoral agreement of the political parties in the BMC elections is still pending. The Uddhav Thackeray government fell in the Maharashtra Assembly in 2022 and now Uddhav Thackeray’s power has decreased and only 20 MLAs of Uddhav Thackeray have won, while Shinde Sena and BJP have maintained their power. The Mumbai Municipal Corporation elections have been announced and on January 15, the people will exercise their democratic right and the votes will be counted on the 16th and an announcement will be made on the same day. A round of meetings is underway between Shinde Sena and BJP regarding the electoral understanding and seat sharing, but so far they have not reached any conclusion. An understanding has not been reached between BJP and Shinde Sena regarding the Mahim, Parel, Dadar Byculla, and Kalabha areas because these areas contain a Marathi population along with Uttar Bharatiya. Both parties have claimed these areas. Due to organizational issues, Shinde Sena has claimed these areas and has said that due to organizational stability, these areas should be given to Shiv Sena. BJP voters have increased in the last election. BJP’s strength has increased here due to businessmen and Hindutva voters. Therefore, now the possibility of an electoral alliance at the local level is clear, while the alliance is still pending in Maha Vikas Aghadi because due to the alliance between Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray, Congress and NCP have not yet taken any decision on the electoral alliance. In such a situation, if there is no electoral alliance in Maha Vikas Aghadi and Mahayoti in BMC, then this contest will be more interesting because in this election, two Shiv Sena, two NCP and other parties will try their luck and the number of candidates entering the electoral fray will also increase.