The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday released its first list of 66 candidates for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections. This announcement signals the party’s formal launch into a high-stakes battle for Asia’s richest civic body Key names in the first list include Tejasvee Ghosalkar, Ganesh Khankar, Manisha Yadav, Milind Shinde, and Akash Purohit. Ghosalkar, who recently quit Shiv Sena UBT, had joined the BJP, while Akash Purohit is the son of former party minister Raj Purohit. A major highlight of the list is the nomination of Ravi Raja, the former Leader of Opposition in the BMC, who recently defected from the Congress to join the BJP. Raja will contest from Ward No 185 in Dharavi, a move seen as a direct challenge to the Congress stronghold in that region. Other notable candidates include Neil Somaiya (Ward 107), who is the son of former MP Kirit Somaiya, Makarand Narvekar (Ward 226), and Harshita Narvekar (Ward 227). Both are family members of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar and Tejinder Singh Tiwana (Ward 47).