BJP lures State SP chief, but Shiv Sena benefits

That the SP bosses were completely foxed by the move was evident from the fact that only a week ago they announced Salvi’s candidature from the Thane constituency. While the BJP had left the seat for the Shiv Sena whose sitting MP Prakash Paranjape was renominated for the seat, the Congress had left the seat for the SP with which they had an electoral understanding in an effort to contain the ruling alliance by keeping the Muslim vote bank undivided.

Reacting swiftly, the SP, in a statement issued from New Delhi announced that Salvi was expelled from the party for a period of six years, and appointed Hussain Dalwai, the recently elected SP MLC as the state chief.

Pawar had worked for an alliance with the SP by ensuring Dalwai’s victory in the Council elections.

It was clearly a BJP coup though the fallout will benefit the Sena, with Paranjape expected to win the seat with a greater margin than his previous about two lakh lead.

Along with Salvi, the Agri Samaj of which Salvi is the leader has also extended its support to the Sena-BJP candidates. The samaj boasts of a membership of over five lakh in Thane and Raigad district.

Salvi, who till yesterday labelled the BJP and the Sena as communal said that he decided to join the party when he realised that only the BJP could provide a stable government, take the country ahead and provide social justice to the down-trodden. He said,"The Congress is boasting of a win by entering into an alliance with the SP and I wanted to destroy this," hinting that by joining the BJP, he had achieved his aim.

The formal announcement of Salvi’s induction was made at a public meeting held late in the evening at Shivaji Chowk, Bhiwandi. At the rally, Narayan Panjabi, an independent corporator from Ulhasnagar also joined the BJP, it was announced. The Deputy Chief Minister was in Bhiwandi to attend an iftar party organised by the Bhiwandi Power Consumers Seva Sangh.

Curiously, the BJP was also targeting SP MLA of Bhiwandi Mohammed Ali Khan. But Khan refused the BJP overtures. Talking to The Indian Express Khan said, "How can I possibly forget the (referring to the Babri Masjid) great demolition." However, BJP leaders said that they would keep trying to rope in the strongman of Bhiwandi.

Salvi talking to The Indian Express said that he was unhappy at the way the SP leadership took decisions in Delhi without consulting the local leadership. He further said that there was no "samaajwaad" in the Samajwadi Party. He particularly was upset by the fact that the party had made no effort to do anything for the "bahujan samaaj."

The terms under which Salvi joined the BJP are not known, but it was made clear that the BJP would not allot him a ticket for the coming poll.

It is ironic that though the decision to join the BJP had been taken by Salvi 15 days ago, he continued talking against the BJP with the result that the SP was not aware of his intention to cross over. He sent his resignation to the party headquarters in Mumbai and Lucknow only this afternoon by fax.

The defection has put Congress in a fix. The SP, to whom the seat has been allotted has no viable candidate to replace Salvi. The Congress will now have to think in terms of fielding a candidate with credentials enough to counter Paranjape – a tough task given the Thane scenario.

For the Congress this is compounding an injury with another. Harbans Singh, the party leader who contested the Thane seat last election quit to join the Samajwadi Party to contest the Lok Sabha polls from his home constituency of Jaunpur in UP. Now, the candidate proposed by the "alliance partner" has left to join the BJP.

With Salvi’s exit, the names of two candidates are making round: R C Patil, district rural Congress committee chief and Vasant Davkhare, the Congress MLC. But both of them do not have the profile to confront Paranjape. Understandably, the local Shiv Sena circles are jubilant with both Anand Dighe, Thane Sena leader and Paranjape welcoming the development.