BJP leader likely to contest Thane seat as independent

Mumbai: Thane constituency, the home seat of chief minister Eknath Shinde, is likely to become a bone of contention between the Shiv Sena and the BJP in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls. Several BJP office bearers, including former corporators in Navi Mumbai, on Thursday resigned en masse protesting the candidature of Shinde loyalist Naresh Mhaske from Thane. They said a “BJP candidate” will file nomination from this constituency.

The Shinde-led Shiv Sena announced Mhaske as its nominee from the Thane seat on late Wednesday. However, it sparked an uproar among supporters of local strongman Ganesh Naik in Navi Mumbai. They urged Sanjeev Naik, the elder son of Ganesh Naik, to contest as an independent candidate.

The Naik loyalists gathered at Crystal House, Ganesh Naik’s office in Navi Mumbai, where he was present along with his sons, Sanjeev and Sandeep Naik, the city BJP chief. Despite Naik’s attempts to pacify the supporters, they submitted their resignations. They alleged that it was a ploy to finish off the Naik family from Navi Mumbai politics.

Later, they held protests at the BJP headquarters in South Mumbai demanding nomination for Sanjeev Naik. One of the supporters alleged that Shinde has “made a deal” with Shiv Sena (UBT) by fielding a weak candidate in Mhaske from the Thane seat to ensure the victory of his son Shrikant Shinde from the Kalyan Lok Sabha seat. He alleged that Sena (UBT) has given a ticket to Vaishali Darekar, a relatively weaker candidate, against Shrikant Shinde in Kalyan.

Sanjeev Naik had won the LS polls on an NCP ticket by defeating his Shiv Sena rival-Vijay Chougle in 2009 by a margin of 49,020 votes. However, he was defeated by Sena’s Rajan Vichare in the 2014 LS polls by a margin of over 2.81 lakh votes.

The Thane constituency includes six assembly segments including- Mira-Bhayandar, Kopri-Pachpakhadi, Ovala-Majiwada, Thane, Airoli and Belapur, of which four belong to the BJP. The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has fielded Shiv Sena (UBT)’s sitting MP Rajan Vichare (UBT) from the seat.

Friday (May 3) is the last day to file nominations for the Thane seat.