Why Devendra Fadnavis is upset with Uddhav Thackeray
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis was taken aback when Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray not only welcomed Shrinivas Wanga, son of late BJP MP Chintaman Wanga, in the party fold but also fielded him in the poll fray in the by-election of Palghar Lok Sabha constituency, near Mumbai, on May 7.
Angry Fadnavis blamed the Shiv Sena for breaking the trust. “Shiv Sena has not done a good thing. They should have backed our candidate in Palghar,” he said.
In Maharashtra, all major political parties have maintained a tradition of not to contest a by-election necessitated because of the death of a sitting member.
Fadnavis reminded Thackeray that the BJP had not contested the Assembly byelection in Bandra as well as the municipal seat in Mumbai following the death of Shiv Sena members. He expected Thackeray to reciprocate the same after the demise of Wanga three months ago.
However, under pressure from the cadre, Thackeray felt that it was the right opportunity to send out a signal that the Shiv Sena was firm on its stand of fighting elections alone by putting up a fight in Palghar.
In an attempt to be politically correct, Fadnavis has claimed that BJP had unanimously decided to field Shrinivas in the poll fray before Shiv Sena hijacked him. He claimed that he had given an appointment to Shrinivas within five minutes of receiving a request for the same from him.
“He was kept in an undisclosed place for five to six days so that we could not contact him,” Fadnavis said, pointing fingers at the Shiv Sena.
The party sources, however, tell a different story. According to a senior leader, the BJP was not in a mood to field Shrinivas as he is not a public figure like his father. He points out that Shrinivas never interacted with the party leaders whenever they visited the Wangas’ home.
“We could not say no to him because of the goodwill attached with his father. He got the wind of our intention of not giving him a ticket so he approached the Shiv Sena. It proved as a blessing in disguise for us,” the leader said.
Fadnavis has indicated that he will take the by-election seriously. He managed to poach former Congress minister of state Rajendra Gavit to contest on a BJP ticket. “If we cannot win this by-election Wanga’s soul will not forgive us. Come what may, we will win,” Fadnavis said.
(Courtesy of Mail Today)