Pravin Chheda, former leader of opposition of Congress party in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation joined BJP in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday. Chheda was the last prominent Gujarati face in Congress party.
In Mumbai, the Gujarati community comprise of 18-20 per cent of the total population. There are several pockets where the Gujarati voters impact the election outcome like Ghatkopar, Chheda Nagar in Chembur, Borivali, Dahisar, Kandivali, Malad, Mulund and Matunga. There are currently two Gujarati MLAs Yogesh Sagar and Prakash Mehta as well as MP Kirit Somaiya all elected on a BJP ticket. In BMC there are 20 Gujarati corporators who are from BJP and another four from Congress.