Mumbai: Days before the civic polls, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) suffered a setback in Mumbai as its Worli division chief Santosh Dhuri quit the party and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday after failing to get a ticket for the elections.
After being inducted into the BJP in the presence of the party’s Mumbai chief Ameet Satam, Dhuri alleged that MNS chief Raj Thackeray had surrendered the party to its ally, the Shiv Sena (UBT), during seat-sharing negotiations. Dhuri wanted a ticket from ward no 194 in Worli, but the seat went to Shiv Sena (UBT) legislator Sunil Shinde’s brother, Nishikant.
Dhuri had worked with Raj Thackeray in the undivided Shiv Sena’s student wing, Bharatiya Vidyarthi Sena, and crossed over to the MNS when the latter formed the party in 2006. He became a corporator later but lost the 2017 Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.
Speaking to the media after joining the BJP on Tuesday, Dhuri said: “I was Raj saheb’s fan, and walked out when he set up the party. Saheb has surrendered the party to [Shiv Sena (UBT)]. We have been given 52 seats, and we are doubtful if we can even win seven to eight seats. We didn’t get the seats that we wanted. We wanted at least two seats each in the Mahim, Dadar, Worli, Sewri and Bhandup areas, which are our strongholds.”
However, Dhuri claimed that he did not quit because he was denied a ticket. “We were getting ward no 194, but I was told that ward no 192 and 190 were important. In fact, the Mumbai MNS chief, Sandeep Deshpande, was not included in any [seat-sharing] discussions. Shiv Sena (UBT) had given an order that Deshpande and Dhuri must not be given a ticket,” he claimed.
Dhuri added that BJP minister Nitesh Rane called him and invited him to join the BJP. He then met chief minister Devendra Fadnavis as well, before deciding to join the BJP.
Reacting to the development, MNS general secretary Shalini Thackeray said, “The BJP-Sena are not happy with the alliance of the two Thackerays, and some people in our party are also not happy, especially the ones who didn’t get tickets. The BJP-Sena are always ready to employ any means necessary to win elections. They are always ready to tap people who are unhappy in the MNS, and this is what has happened.”
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anil Parab said, “Any party leader gets a reputation because of the party’s image and brand. Just because he didn’t get a ticket, he must not defame a party. The MNS-Shiv Sena (UBT) alliance is happening for the first time, and some aspirants did not get a chance to contest. This has happened in both parties.”
Speculation is rife in the MNS that Deshpande may also cross over to the BJP. When contacted, he refused to comment on the matter.
Meanwhile, two former mayors of the Nashik Municipal Corporation, Dashrath Patil and Ashok Murtadak, formally joined the Shiv Sena in the presence of deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde at his residence in Thane. Murtadak was in the BJP, while Patil had also been with the party earlier.
Other MNS leaders, such as general secretary Rajabhau Chougule, spokesperson Hemant Kamble, the film wing’s general secretary Rahul Tuplondhe, the student wing’s Sandesh Shetty, Munavvar Sheikh, Public Interest Cell advocate Devashish Merk, Prathamesh Bandekar, and Santosh Yadav, also joined the Shiv Sena.