There was a time the Muslim votes mattered most for the Congress. Presently, the party longs for a sizeable Muslim share that can swing the election results its way. The BMC polls will be no different, because the Congress has another party, the Shiv Sena (Thackeray), in competition to woo Muslim voters. Uddhav Thackeray has made his intentions loud and clear, and has evoked an expected response from arch rival, the Bharatiya Janata Party, that has accused its one-time partner of minority appeasement. The BJP began a city-wide campaign on Sunday to thwart Thackeray’s attempt.

The Congress, which had a maximum number of Muslim representatives in the outgoing BMC house, has two options: fight the elections solo or forge an alliance with Uddhav Thackeray, who is desperate to seek an additional share of votes to compensate for the loss the party split he might incur in his bid to retain the Mayor’s office. Samajwadi Party, the Nationalist Congress Party and All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) are the other contenders, but they are not as big as the Thackeray Sena and the Congress.