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Journalism of Courage
On the surface, it8217;s a ticket war between friends-turned-rivals in a prime Mumbai Assembly constituency. Such is the political and fund-raising clout of heavyweight MLA Hemendra Mehta 60 that the fight for Borivali8217;s BJP ticket banks on a secretive, last-minute party effort to coax the miffed Gujarati to drop out of the race and help ex-colleague Gopal Shetty win.
Last week, when the BJP disclosed its first list of 83 candidates for the October 13 Assembly elections, former deputy mayor Shetty had glaringly replaced Mehta 8212; an influential sitting MLA with a 14-year record.
Desperate to retain Borivali 8212; BJP lost the Lok Sabha seat here 8212; the top brass, including representatives of Pramod Mahajan, the party8217;s state campaign chief, are queueing to placate the sulking MLA.
Mehta, who says he has 8216;8216;nothing against Shetty,8217;8217; blames Ram Naik, former five-time Mumbai North MP. 8216;8216;I have rebelled against an individual,8217;8217; he says. 8216;8216;Rambhau blames me for his Lok Sabha defeat. It8217;s a question of my respect. I was dropped without a discussion.8217;8217;
Mehta alleges that Naik was against the selection of a Gujarati candidate. The BJP wants Mehta back. 8216;8216;We would like him to withdraw from the scene,8217;8217; Naik said. 8216;8216;We feel he should not contest against a party candidate. Every effort will be made for him to withdraw.8217;8217;
This April, Mehta8217;s name surfaced in a case of 8216;abetment to suicide8217; when Dharmesh Zariwalla hanged himself at his Malad residence and left behind a suicide note implicating the MLA. That is one of the reasons he was dropped.
For the BJP, tainted ministers in power has been an issue since they lost at the Centre. 8216;8216;One reason he was dropped was the Zariwalla case,8217;8217; admits Shetty. 8216;8216;I8217;m hurt. Whenever the party needed funds urgently I raised it,8217;8217; said Mehta.
