Mumbai: The Mahayuti alliance on Sunday unveiled a wide-ranging manifesto for the upcoming civic body elections in Mumbai, promising technology-led governance to make it a “global powerhouse”, a 50 per cent concession on fares for women in BEST buses and “freeing” the city from Bangladeshi migrants.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who unveiled the document, said the BJP-Shiv Sena-RPI (A) alliance would combine “Japanese technology” with local administration to tackle chronic civic problems and bring services to citizens’ mobile phones.
The manifesto has emphasised the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to curb corruption, speed up clearances and improve service delivery.
“The city has seen 25 years of inefficiency in civic governance, and now I want to tell people to give us the opportunity to bring transparency in civic administration,” he said.
“Our goal is a corruption-free municipal corporation,” Fadnavis said, outlining a “Municipality on your Mobile” initiative and an AI-driven platform to fast-track building approvals and ensure transparency in the real estate sector.
He also pledged AI labs in all municipal schools to equip students with future-ready skills. Transport and women’s safety figured prominently in the manifesto.
Fadnavis said the alliance aims to expand the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) fleet from around 5,000 to 10,000 buses, switch to electric vehicles and introduce a 50 per cent concession on fares for women travellers.
He said new “midi” and “mini” services would improve last-mile connectivity around Metro and railway stations.
“We will free Mumbai of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas. With the help of IIT, we will develop an AI tool to identify Bangladeshi migrants,” Fadnavis said.