BJP-SENA faced with rebellion in 30 seats
Though many dissenters toed the party line on Monday, some key constituencies such as Bandra (E), Versova and Andheri (E) will see stiff opposition to the alliance.
TheBJP-Sena alliance is facing large-scale opposition from rebel candidates in around 30 constituencies in the state, including three in Mumbai.
The state assembly has 288 constituencies; while the BJP is contesting in 164 seats, Sena is fighting for 124 seats.
Faced with 114 rebels who had filed nominations as independents in over 50assembly constituencies , the BJP leadership continued to negotiate over the weekend to prevail on the dissenters to withdraw from the race. The Sena too was faced with a similar predicament. Though the rebels had initially defied the threat of expulsion, most of them toed the party line on Monday.
Untitled Carousel 
The BJP has tried hard to accommodate the demands of leaders from theCongress and NCP who crossed over to its side while attempting to placate its own rank and file.
Sources said state party chief Chandrakant Patil and chief ministerDevendra Fadnavis personally spoke to dissenters, asking them to pull out. In the Sena, backroom operators such as legislator Anil Parab and Uddhav Thackeray ’s aide Milind Narwekar tried to convince the rebels to withdraw nominations.
However, in some key constituencies, the rebels have refused to back out.
Rajul Patel, a Sena corporator, filed her nomination as an independent from Versova, a seat allotted to sitting MLA Bharti Lavhekar of Vinayak Mete’s Shiv Sangram party. Patel said she is only fighting the incumbent MLA and not against any party. Lavhekar has not done any work in the area and has troubled the local Sena and BJP cadre. I am firm on my decision. I am contesting for the development of Versova and have prepared my own agenda for the election,” she said.
The Sena faced embarrassment in its own backyard in Matoshree. Sitting MLA Trupti Sawant from Bandra (E) has also filed her nomination despite the party fielding Mumbai Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar. Despite senior party leaders reaching out to her, Sawant didn’t withdraw her nomination.
Sawant’s rebellion comes as a surprise as she entered politics only recently after the death of her husband and Sena leader Bala Sawant. He was the MLA from Bandra (East), so Trupti was given a ticket in the 2015 by-poll. She had defeated heavyweight Congress leader Narayan Rane.
Untitled Carousel
In Andheri (East), BJP’s former corporator Murji Patel has filed his nomination as an independent against Sena candidate Ramesh Latke.
In Sindhudurg district, BJP-Sena candidates are fighting against each other in all the three constituencies.
Sena activist and president of district cooperative bank Satish Sawant has filed nomination against BJP candidate Nitesh Rane, the son of former chief minister Narayan Rane. The hostilities between Sena and Rane are well known.
In Sawantwadi constituency BJP worker Rajan Teli will oppose Sena candidate and minister of state for Home Deepak Kesarkar.
In Kudal, BJP’s Ranjit Desai has hoisted the flag of rebellion against Sena’s sitting MLA Vaibhav Naik.
Nagpur district, Fadnavis’s home turf, too has been plagued by rebellion. In Ramtek constituency, Sena’s former MLA and chairman of state mining corporation Ashish Jaiswal will lock horns with BJP’s sitting MLA Mallikarjun Reddy.
The speaker of the assembly Haribhau Bagde too is facing rebellion as Sena’s Ramesh Pawar is raring to give him a tough time.
Political analyst Prakash Akolkar said, “Considering the strong dissension in both parties, the Sena and the BJP would have been better off if they had contested separately, especially since the Congress and NCP are completely demoralised.” —Inputs from Shruti Ganapatye
You May Also Like to See:
The
The state assembly has 288 constituencies; while the BJP is contesting in 164 seats, Sena is fighting for 124 seats.
There are cases where Sena activists rebelled against BJP candidates and vice-versa. Additionally, there are instances of Sena and BJP aspirants opposing their own party’s candidates.
Faced with 114 rebels who had filed nominations as independents in over 50
'Outsider' BJP candidate Chandrakant Patil stays in friend's Kothrud house, rents office
Chandrakant Patil said he was living at a friend's house as the latter insisted that he do so, adding that he had not signed any agreement for the same.
The BJP has tried hard to accommodate the demands of leaders from the
Sources said state party chief Chandrakant Patil and chief minister
However, in some key constituencies, the rebels have refused to back out.
Rajul Patel, a Sena corporator, filed her nomination as an independent from Versova, a seat allotted to sitting MLA Bharti Lavhekar of Vinayak Mete’s Shiv Sangram party. Patel said she is only fighting the incumbent MLA and not against any party. Lavhekar has not done any work in the area and has troubled the local Sena and BJP cadre. I am firm on my decision. I am contesting for the development of Versova and have prepared my own agenda for the election,” she said.
From left to right: In Sawantwadi, BJP’s Rajan Teli will oppose Sena candidate; Trupti Sawant is opposing Sena candidate in Bandra East; Rajul Patel, a Sena corporator, is a rebel candidate
The Sena faced embarrassment in its own backyard in Matoshree. Sitting MLA Trupti Sawant from Bandra (E) has also filed her nomination despite the party fielding Mumbai Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar. Despite senior party leaders reaching out to her, Sawant didn’t withdraw her nomination.
Sawant’s rebellion comes as a surprise as she entered politics only recently after the death of her husband and Sena leader Bala Sawant. He was the MLA from Bandra (East), so Trupti was given a ticket in the 2015 by-poll. She had defeated heavyweight Congress leader Narayan Rane.
NCP has fielded this leader against Aaditya Thackeray
The NCP has fielded former Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) leader Suresh Mane who will contest from the NCP.
In Andheri (East), BJP’s former corporator Murji Patel has filed his nomination as an independent against Sena candidate Ramesh Latke.
In Sindhudurg district, BJP-Sena candidates are fighting against each other in all the three constituencies.
Sena activist and president of district cooperative bank Satish Sawant has filed nomination against BJP candidate Nitesh Rane, the son of former chief minister Narayan Rane. The hostilities between Sena and Rane are well known.
In Sawantwadi constituency BJP worker Rajan Teli will oppose Sena candidate and minister of state for Home Deepak Kesarkar.
In Kudal, BJP’s Ranjit Desai has hoisted the flag of rebellion against Sena’s sitting MLA Vaibhav Naik.
Nagpur district, Fadnavis’s home turf, too has been plagued by rebellion. In Ramtek constituency, Sena’s former MLA and chairman of state mining corporation Ashish Jaiswal will lock horns with BJP’s sitting MLA Mallikarjun Reddy.
The speaker of the assembly Haribhau Bagde too is facing rebellion as Sena’s Ramesh Pawar is raring to give him a tough time.
Political analyst Prakash Akolkar said, “Considering the strong dissension in both parties, the Sena and the BJP would have been better off if they had contested separately, especially since the Congress and NCP are completely demoralised.” —Inputs from Shruti Ganapatye
You May Also Like to See:
From Aaditya Thackeray, Devendra Fadnavis, Pradeep Sharma to Ashish Shelar, candidates rush to file nomination papers for 2019 Maharashtra Assembly Elections
