A turbulent day for ticket BJP-Sena (Shinde) unite NCP (Ajit Pawar) to fight mpl polls alone

 

Though many in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were not inclined to have alliance with any party, the senior party leaders decided to go with Shiv Sena (Shinde). The senior leaders came up with a formula according to which BJP gave 8 seats to Sena and kept remaining 143 with it. BJP had already made it clear that there would be no alliance with Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar) at any cost. During Winter Session of State Legislature, State BJP President Ravindra Chavan had hinted that the Mahayuti would be contesting polls with Sena. In Nagpur, BJP got over 5,000 applications of the aspirants for 151 seats. There were rounds of meetings of the leaders of both the groups. Shiv Sena’s Krupal Tumane had asked 50 seats but BJP did not agree for the same.

 

The Sena then insisted on 27 seats, but BJP was not ready to give seats more than 5. By late night on December 29, both the parties agreed to contest polls together with BJP on 143 and Sena on 8 seats. On the last day of filing of nominations, Sena made some weak efforts to increase its share to 10 seats but BJP leaders said ‘no’. Under the final deal, BJP has fielded its five candidates from Shiv Sena. The BJP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena on Tuesday announced candidates for all 151 seats in the Nagpur Municipal Corporation elections, while another Mahayuti ally, the NCP, has decided to contest separately. NCP (AP) too had demanded 15% seats but it did not get a single share in Mahayuti.

 

Finally, it decided to go solo. Its party office at Ganeshpeth witnessed fighting among the aspirants. In the last election, 108 BJP corporators were elected. After coming to power, about 80 percent of the corporators did not even visit their constituencies. After the end of the municipal corporation’s term, the BJP had warned that it would not give tickets to the inactive corporators. According to a senior leader of the BJP, the surveys were conducted and on the basis of it, majority candidates are made party’s official candidates.