Despite an alliance with Shiv Sena in the state government, party unveils ‘100 per cent BJP’ plan in Thane for the civic elections
Eknath Shinde is greeted by deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis as he takes charge as state’s CM, at Mantralaya, on July 7
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde may have been the undisputed king of Thane, but that has not deterred his new ally—BJP—to eye his territory. The party has taken a pledge to win 100 per cent seats in the next Thane civic polls despite the fact that 66 of 67 former Shiv Sena corporators are with the Shinde camp. Thane city BJP president Niranjan Dawkhare sought to play it down calling it a routine exercise.
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In the 2017 civic polls, of Thane’s 131 seats, the Sena had won 67 wards, while 23 went to the BJP. The NCP had won 34 seats. Corporation elections in Maharashtra are expected to be held in the next few months.
Also read: CM Shinde orders long-term plan for easing traffic congestion in Mumbai region
A banner put up in support of Eknath Shinde, in Thane, on June 23. Pic/Sameer Markande
The Thane unit of the BJP has unveiled its plan—Shatpratishat BJP—to come victorious in all the seats in the upcoming Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) elections. The move comes barely 12 days after Shinde and BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis took oath as the chief minister and deputy CM respectively.
Meanwhile, Shinde has also launched efforts to expand his already-strong base in Thane. He has started meeting with former corporators of Sena, while his son and MP Dr Shrikant Shinde has been interacting with local party workers.
“Shatpratishat BJP is our motto. It’s for the whole country,” said a Thane BJP leader who did not wish to come on record. In the last civic polls, the BJP and Sena had fought separately.
Thane city BJP president
and MLC Niranjan Dawkhare said the pledge has nothing to do with the current political scenario in the state. “Shatpratishat BJP is the nation-wide programme of the BJP. It was a regular meeting as per the instructions of the state and the national party leaderships. Under this programme, we are appointing at least 10 to 20 karyakartas at the booth level. Such meetings are held throughout the year to review our work. This meeting has nothing to do with the current political scenario. It was a routine party meeting,” he said. MLA Deepak Kesarkar, spokesperson of the Shinde group, did not respond to calls from mid-day.
131
No of seats in the Thane civic body
67
No of seats won by Sena in 2017
23
No of seats won by BJP in 2017
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