Tussle between Mahayuti allies: BJP candidates in 4 seats face opposition from Sena workers

In Kalyan East, the BJP has nominated Sulabha Gaikwad, the wife of Ganpat Gaikwad, who is in jail for allegedly opening fire on the Sena leader Mahesh Gaikwad inside Hill Line police station in Ulhas Nagar.

The Shinde Sena leaders have been opposing the nomination of Gaikwad’s wife since beginning and have now threatened to not campaign for the BJP candidate.

The Shiv Sena workers including Mahesh Gaikwad also staged a symbolic protest Monday demanding to field another candidate from the seat. “The Kalyan East Assembly seat is a Shiv Sena bastion and only Shiv Sena’s candidates must be fielded from here,” a Shinde Sena functionary said adding that the party workers are also upset with Sena for allowing BJP to take the seat.

The Sena workers are also opposing the BJP’s decision to field sitting MLA Sanjay Kelkar in Thane, the stronghold of Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde; Ganesh Naik from Airoli in Navi Mumbai; and Kisan Kathore from Murbad constituency of Palghar.

On all the three seats, the local Sena workers hoping that the Shinde Sena candidate should have been fielded.

However a Sena functionary said that the party will take steps to placate the disappointed workers. “It’s obvious for the workers to get upset if the seat is gone to another party. But we are contesting the polls in an alliance and we will campaign for the candidate of the alliance be it from Sena or BJP or NCP. We will take necessary efforts to placate the disappointed workers and the infighting will be under the siege,” the Sena functionary said.

Meanwhile, friction is also there between BJP and NCP over the candidature of NCP leader Nawab Malik.

BJP leaders have openly opposed the candidature of NCP leader Nawab Malik for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly election. “We will not accept giving a ticket to someone linked to underworld don Dawood Ibrahim,” Ashish Shelar, Mumbai BJP president said on Tuesday.

Malik, the sitting MLA from Anushakti Nagar, may contest from Mankhurd-Shivaji Nagar and leave the Anushakti Nagar constituency to his daughter Sana, who plans to make her debut in electoral politics from the NCP-led by Ajit Pawar.

Malik was a minister in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government and was arrested in 2022 in a case first registered by the NIA against Dawood and his associates including Chhota Shakeel and Tiger Memon.

Meanwhile, there is also a tussle between the Shiv Sena and BJP over the Worli Assembly constituency which is currently represented by the Sena UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray, with both parties vying for the seat.