MUMBAI: To steal a march over the Shiv Sena ahead of the Mumbai civic elections, the city BJP unit despatched its corporators to Malwan in Konkan to offer prayers at the annual Bharadi Devi fair on Thursday. Attendance at the annual fair of the over four century-old deity is an integral part of the Sena's tradition, said analysts.
BJP politicians Vinod Tawde and Ashish Shelar, both belong to Konkan, led the bandwagon to the sea-swept coastal town. “From Lord Ram to Bharadi Devi we've come a long way,” said a party corporator. Observers said the BJP is keen to bridge the gap with the Sena’s Lalbaug-Parel-Sewri-Byculla vote-bank, which boasts a sizeable chunk of blue-collar workers who hail from Malwan.
