BJP to harp on govt record in infrastructure

Citing the record of the Shiv Sena-BJP saffron alliance that ruled the state from 1995 to 1999 in building a network of flyovers in the city,Shetty attacked the state government for its sluggish pace on the infrastructure front and the delay in construction of the landmark Bandra-Worli Sea Link.

“All these will be among our election issues,” Shetty said,adding that they would also corner the government on rising inflation,handling of the 26/11 terror attacks and failure on the law and order front,escalating loan burden on the state government,farmer suicides,loadshedding and lack of employment generation.

While revealing that he had sought a nomination from the Borivali constituency,Shetty said Poonam Mahajan Rao — daughter of late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan — is likely to be fielded by the party in Ghatkopar West,pointing to the statements of BJP Maharashtra president Nitin Gadkari in this regard. He also said the Shiv Sena had agreed to leave the seat for the BJP.

On chances of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena spoiling the chances of the alliance in assembly polls,Shetty said,“The Maharashtrians have already taken note of what happened in the Lok Sabha polls. Voting in a different way (for the MNS) has hurt the interests of the Marathi speakers in Mumbai.”

In the Lok Sabha polls,the MNS had eaten into the saffron alliance votes in Mumbai,Thane,Nashik and Pune,and ensured the defeat of BJP heavyweights like former Union Minister Ram Naik and Kirit Somaiya.

Shetty alleged that the Congress had used the MNS in the Lok Sabha polls to hurt the interests of Maharashtrians and said the Sena-BJP would stress this in their campaign. He said the Sena-BJP would field a majority of Maharashtrian candidates in the 36 seats in Mumbai,and also accommodate those from other communities like Gujaratis and North Indians.

Shetty also denied any rift in the Sena-BJP over seat-sharing in Mumbai. He said they would not take the disagreements over the Malabar Hill seat as a prestige issue,but stressed the BJP’s claim over the assembly segment,which has been formed by merging parts of the Opera House,Malabar Hill and Khetwadi constituencies.