All eyes on ‘party with a difference’

The Bharatiya Janata Party BJP has long described itself as a ldquoparty with a differencerdquo That claim will be put to the test in Mumbai which does not want more slogans It wants everyday civic life to improve better roads safer footpaths cleaner streets and a government that actually worksFor the past few years the BJP has blamed the Shiv Sena which had control over the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC for decades for the cityrsquos civic decline It spoke loudly about potholes broken pavements garbage piles flooding every monsoon traffic chaos and the daily frustration of ordinary citizens The message was simple Mumbai deserved better and the BJP would deliver betterLast week the BJP secured the mayorrsquos chair in Indiarsquos richest civic body The time for criticism is overThe BJP also cannot claim that it does not know what Mumbai wants In the runup to the civic polls the party launched a public outreach campaign to collect citizensrsquo feedback for its manifesto It says it received responses from nearly 265 lakh people More than half of those surveyed expressed dissatisfaction with civic services and the biggest concerns were basic ones encroached footpaths hawkers illegal parking roads potholes garbage collection water supply flooding healthcare and housingThe manifesto is not just an election document It is a promise and the party will be judged by whether it delivers on what citizens themselves said they need mostThe BJP is in power not only at the BMC but also in the state and at the Centre When one party controls all three levels excuses lose meaning Only results matter The time for delivery has begun And citizens have already waited long enoughSince 2022 after the elected BMC term ended Mumbai has been run by administrators under the statersquos watch Yet for most people little changed on the ground Roads remained broken footpaths stayed encroached and civic problems continued as usual So the question is unavoidable will anything finally improve now that Mumbai again has an elected civic bodyBecause the real Mumbai story is not about who occupies the mayorrsquos office It is about whether a senior citizen can walk safely without tripping over broken pavements or open manholes Such is the state of things that a former BMC commissioner once admitted the pavements were in such poor condition and so badly encroached that he could not even take his own mother out for a walk That one remark says more than any political speech ever could People are exhausted by temporary fixes and by public money being spent year after year on the same issuesAccording to reports the BMC has spent more than Rs 21000 crore over the last two decades on road repairs and maintenance Yet Mumbairsquos roads continue to crumble The 2015 road scam only deepened public suspicion about where the money goesThe BMCrsquos budget is nearly Rs 74000 crore larger than that of several smaller states With this kind of money citizens have every right to demand worldclass civic servicesPower in the BMC is a responsibility The BJP has an opportunity not just to rule Mumbai but to improve it If it delivers on the basics it can earn genuine trust If it slips into the same blame games and slow action it will lose the very argument it built for years The stakes are higher because this election was closely linked to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavisrsquos leadership He asked voters to trust him for the next five yearsIt is also worth noting that Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde attended the mayor and deputy mayorrsquos election and the setting up of the new leadership in the BMC Many civic officials say it is rare for a chief minister or his deputy to be present at such events which are usually handled by local leaders The CMrsquos presence showed how closely the BJPrsquos push for power in Mumbairsquos civic body was guided from the very topNow if the BJP fails to keep its promises citizens will be left with little choice but to sigh and say ldquoArre Devardquo a familiar Marathi cry of frustration because ldquoDeva Bhaurdquo cannot remain only a nickname Mumbai needs real work not just wordsSanjeev Shivadekar is political editor midday He tweets SanjeevShivadekSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper