Devendra Fadnavis (left) and Eknath Shinde.
Credit: PTI Photo
Mumbai: Two seats of Mumbai - Mahim and Mankhurd-Shivajinagar continue to be a friction point between the Mahayuti allies with the BJP annoyed with the stance of Shiv Sena and NCP, respectively.
BJP’s troubleshooter and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who calls the shots for the saffron party and is the architect of Maha Yuti, is constantly in touch with chief minister Eknath Shinde, who is the chief leader of Shiv Sena and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who is the NCP president.
With barely three days remaining for withdrawal of nominations for the November 20 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly polls, BJP is working overtime to ensure that as the senior ally, things need to be sorted out in the larger interests of the party.
Fadnavis, BJP’s Maharashtra unit president Chandrashekhar Bawankule and his Mumbai counterpart Ashish Shelar on the same page.
From Mahim, the BJP wants Shiv Sena’s Sada Sarvankar to withdraw in favour of MNS president Raj Thackeray’s son Amit Thackeray. However, Sarvankar, so far, has refused to bow out.
Sarvankar is a two-time MLA of Mahim, having won during the undivided Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena.
The BJP and Shinde have promised Sarvankar a berth in the Maharashtra Legislative Council, ticket to son Samadhan Sarvankar during the elections to BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation and extension of tenure as chairperson of Siddhivinayak Temple Trust.
Raj’s son Amit is making a debut from Mahim, which is a seat very significant as the historic Shivaji Park falls in this constituency and his bungalow is located in the periphery of the ground. The seat reflects Marathi sentiments.
The BJP top brass is of the opinion that the father-son duo of Raj-Amit needs to be helped because the MNS has supported the NDA during the Lok Sabha polls. Amit not only faces Sarvankar but also Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Mahesh Sawant - making the electoral battle triangular.
Besides, the Mankhurd-Shivajinagar seat is a bone of contention with Ajit Pawar as Nawab Malik has filed nomination papers as an Independent and also as NCP candidate despite the fact that his daughter Sana Malik was given ticket from his home seat of Anushakti Nagar. Malik has filed papers against rival and Samajwadi Party’s state unit president Abu Asim Azmi and Shiv Sena’s Suresh Patil, who is the official Maha Yuti candidate.
The BJP is against Malik because of the alleged money laundering charges against him and attacks on BJP leaders when he was the spokesperson of the undivided Sharad Pawar-led NCP when the Maha Vikas Aghadi government was in power.
The BJP has made it clear that it would not campaign for Malik, however, the NCP leader said that he was neither seeking help nor is interested in the saffron party's support.
Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.
Subscribe and follow DH on Whatsapp, X, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram to never miss out on anything.