The 10-day Ganesh festival begins on August 31 and the visit of Shah, a key BJP strategist, comes ahead of the crucial polls to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) expected in September or October. The BJP is aiming to wrest control of the BMC from the Shiv Sena, which ruled the cash rich civic body till an administrator was appointed earlier this year due to delay in holding polls.

Shah is expected to visit the pandal of Lalbaugcha Raja, one of the oldest and popular Ganesh mandals in Mumbai, during the tour besides holding meetings with key BJP leaders, he said.“He is most likely to visit Mumbai on September 5. If there are some changes in his tour, Shah would advance his meetings by a day,” said the BJP leader from Maharashtra.

“The official tour plan has not been communicated to the state headquarters of the party. However, verbal communication has confirmed Shah's meetings with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis,” he said.

The Shinde-led government, which took office in June-end, is being supported by the BJP. BJP president J P Nadda is also expected to visit Mumbai in mid-September and his tour would mostly focus on the party' campaign strategy for the BMC polls.

(With PTI Inputs)