Amit Shah to be in Mumbai on September 4; Om Prakash Mathur to meet leaders tomorrow

MUMBAI: With less than two months to go for the Maharashtra Assembly elections, BJP has begun poll preparations in right earnest, determined to topple the 15-year old Congress-NCP regime in the state.

BJP president Amit Shah, who has asked party leaders in Maharashtra to do "whatever they can" to dislodge the Congress-NCP government, will be arriving here on September 4, his first visit to the city after taking over as party chief.

He will attend the meeting of state BJP core committee, at the house of leader of opposition in Legislative Council Vinod Tawde in Vile Parle East and will also address party workers at the Shanmukhananda Hall in Matunga in the evening.

Shah's visit is significant as the BJP is demanding more seats from Shiv Sena, which has led to a deadlock in seat-sharing talks.

BJP in-charge for the state, Om Prakash Mathur is scheduled to hold deliberations with the state party leaders here tomorrow, to discuss preparations for the Assembly elections, slated in October.

Former NCP leader and ex-Union minister Suryakanta Patil and former Congress MP Bhaskarrao Patil Khatgaonkar are likely to join BJP soon. Both the leaders hail from Nanded. The entry may take place in Shah's presence in Mumbai, party sources said.

While Suryakanta Patil is an opponent of former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, Khatgaonkar is Chavan's brother-in-law. Former Maharashtra minister and ex-NCP leader Dr Madhavrao Kinhalkar, also a political opponent of Chavan, is also expected to join BJP.