Shinde camp and BJP handle upset party workers slightly better, but fail to ally in many municipal corporations
Heavy police presence at Marve in Malad West, as candidates submit their nominations for the upcoming BMC election, on Monday. PIC/SATEJ SHINDE
With tickets for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and other municipal corporation elections being announced, all political parties faced some rebellion from unhappy aspirants. However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde handled the situation better than their rivals.
In contrast, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) led by Raj Thackeray struggled to pacify and keep their upset workers together.
According to sources, citing that she was not taken into confidence while allotting seats, MNS leader Snehal Jadhav is said to have expressed her displeasure with the party leadership, and there was buzz of her resigning from the party too. Similarly, two office bearers of the Shiv Sena (UBT) from Worli, an Assembly constituency represented by Aaditya Thackeray, are also said to have stepped down from their official positions.
The problem was not limited to Mumbai. The Shiv Sena (UBT) reportedly faced serious internal issues in Solapur and some other municipal corporations as well.
In another development, Rakhee Jadhav, the Mumbai unit chief of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar), quit the party and joined the BJP. She was later given a BJP ticket. However, former BJP minister Prakash Mehta is said to be unhappy with this decision.
The BJP and the Shinde-led Shiv Sena also saw discontent among some aspirants who did not make it to the final list. But till the time of going to press, there were no reports of party workers or office bearers quitting, except for one case from Borivli. Former BJP corporator Asawari Patil, who was denied a ticket, quit the BJP and joined the Shiv Sena (UBT). She was immediately given a ticket by Uddhav Thackeray’s party.
According to BJP leaders, the party has given local MLAs and office bearers the responsibility of pacifying disgruntled aspirants and leaders. In the case of the MNS, party chief Raj Thackeray personally called a meeting of office-bearers and leaders to limit the damage and send a message of unity.
However, no such visible efforts were seen on the ground from the Shiv Sena (UBT) camp. Party insiders said that while there may have been backdoor efforts, such as phone calls to convince unhappy workers, there was no open or organised outreach to address the unrest.
Former mayor and senior Sena UBT leader Kishori Pendenkar claimed that her party is such that for years, and in every election, there are several aspirants, but only one gets a ticket. “Those who are upset express their displeasure, but from the very next moment start working for the party. After all, they are loyal and committed sainiks,” she said, refuting claims of major unrest and its impact on the poll outcome.
Meanwhile, like in Mumbai, the Congress has decided to contest the Thane polls independently and not as part of the Shiv Sena (UBT)-Sharad Pawar’s NCP and MNS alliance. The BJP and Shinde Sena too could not come to an amicable solution for an alliance in many municipal corporations, including Navi Mumbai and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
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