MUMBAI, Jan. 7 -- Mumbai's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) bigwigs are a worried lot having analysed reports compiled by its core team which shows that the Thackeray cousins' re-union has caught the imagination of the city's Marathis ahead of the Mumbai civic elections. They fear it might scupper their plan of winning over this section of the electorate which would springboard them into the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). "Our volunteers are out in the field gauging voters' mood across Mumbai. The reports tell us that the Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS alliance has made good headway in Marathi enclaves, such as Girgaon, the Lalbaug-Parel-Sewri-Worli belt and suburban pocket boroughs such as Magathane, Charkop and Chembur," said a BJP strategist. The Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS combine has however chosen to exercise restraint for now. "There will be a good gain for the Uddhav-Raj alliance, but only good. The 38% Marathis in Mumbai are scattered across the city. Also, the Marathi votes, even when concentrated, will get divided. We have to work hard," said senior Shiv Sena (UBT) strategist and former minister Subhash Desai. The BJP is now considering if having Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah, defence minister Rajnath Singh, UP CM Yogi Adityanath and J P Nadda as high-profile campaigners would help party candidates garner more north Indian votes or lend credence to the Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS charge that the BJP was all set to gobble up 'aamchi' Mumbai by turning it into a Union Territory. Posters warning Mumbaikars to be aware of a plot to de-link Mumbai from Maharashtra have been splattered in many parts of the city. "Inviting our New Delhi leaders is fraught with risk. The Thackeray cousins will promptly ramp up their anti-Delhi rhetoric which stirs the collective imagination of Marathi manoos," said a senior BJP MLA, adding, yet the party is keen to have PM Modi and Adityanath as its star campaigner during the final phase of the polls, scheduled for January 15. The Sena (UBT)-MNS combine will be locked in a straight fight with the Shiv Sena in as many as 87 wards. Shiv Sena (UBT) will take on the BJP in a straight contest in 97 wards. The BJP has offered a handsome share of 90 BMC seats to the Shiv Sena as it needs Eknath Shinde to bury the Thackeray brand for good. Meanwhile, Uddhav and Raj's joint tours have taken the Marathi-dominated enclaves by storm. Cancelling mega rallies, which the poll management teams of the two parties pointed out affect an already tight schedule of candidates, the Thackerays have instead chosen to strike the heartland - chawls and waadis - in a bid to reach out to voters, and re-create the aura of the vintage Sena. Last Sunday, a 5,000-strong crowd of Shiv Sainiks lustily greeted Uddhav Thackeray when he drove down from his Bandra residence to Navagao in Dahisar to inaugurate the poll office of Saurabh Ghosalkar, a Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate. As drums roared and cymbals clashed party veterans raised slogans of 'Jai Shivaji, Jai Bhavani' in a bid to evoke the nostalgia of the 1970s. "I got a job in the BEST way back in 1984 because of the Sena union," said Kamlakar Gawad, who, at 74, came all the way from Palghar, his hometown, to listen to Uddhav. "We are happy that the two brothers have buried their differences and come together to safeguard the honour of Mumbai and Marathi manoos," he added. Diehard Sena loyalists know their priority well - they want to reiterate their copyright on Mumbai. "We aren't interested in Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS's promises. Politicians always dole out freebies. We want Uddhav and Raj to keep the 'izzat' (prestige) of Marathi Mumbaikars intact. Mumbai belongs to Marathis. Outsiders can come here to work, but not to lord over us," said Kishore Save, who was in school when he first heard late Sena supremo Balasaheb fire salvos at the Congress regime at a Shivaji Park rally. Meanwhile, wresting control over BMC is not enough for the BJP. It wants to make inroads into Marathi bastions, which the undivided Sena did not allow through their four decade-long alliance in the Mumbai civic body. Also, the BJP needs an impressive tally of 115-plus seats in the BMC if it is looking forward to stepping into the chandelier-ed City Hall in style. "More seats will bring legitimacy to our victory," said Vivek Sheth, a BJP karyakarta. BJP has roped in its seniors to quell the Thackeray equity. Mumbai BJP president Ameet Satam tore into the powerpoint presentation on a comprehensive agenda for Mumbai's development made by Aditya Thackeray and Amit, Raj Thackeray's son, recently, while Shelar, in an interview, held Uddhav responsible for Covid deaths in Mumbai. A political analyst termed the outburst as the Thackerays setting the agenda and the BJP following it. However, the Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS has its own share of problems. "We can't match the resources and the state power of our poll rivals," said a former Shiv Sena (UBT) corporator. A shakha-pramukh said the two Thackeray cousins coming together means nothing much as both parties have Marathis as their vote-bank. "We used to win non-Marathi votes too when we were in alliance with the BJP," the shakha-pramukh explained. On the other hand, a section in the MNS is said to be upset with the Shiv Sena (UBT) for not offering the MNS a "decent share of seats". The MNS is contesting only 53 of the total 227 wards. "Of these, only 10 are A-plus, rest are worthless seats," said an MNS functionary....