BJP angry as Sena MLA Raghuvanshi mocks its co-opted councillor pick in Nandurbar

Talk of internal friction between the BJP and the Shinde faction, both part of the Mahayuti, has been going around for the past few months. A fresh row has now erupted in Nandurbar, triggered by a statement from Shiv Sena MLA Chandrakant Raghuvanshi.

The matter concerns the appointment of a co-opted councillor. After a co-opted councillor in Nandurbar resigned, the process of appointing a replacement was under way. The application of the candidate named by the BJP was rejected by the sub-divisional officer because of deficiencies in the documents. Raghuvanshi targeted the BJP over this.

Taking a dig at the party, Raghuvanshi said Nandurbar city has a full 1,10,000 voters, yet the BJP could not find a single worthy and eligible person for the post of co-opted councillor, and that this should embarrass it. He also said the BJP should have sought advice from others to find the right candidate. The BJP is deeply angered by the remark, and the dispute within the Mahayuti has flared up again.

The row comes at a time when, only last week, Mahayuti candidates won just two of the five Legislative Council seats. The other three were won by Maha Vikas Aghadi candidates. The BJP had blamed the Shinde faction for the defeat. That matter had not even settled when this new spark flew between the two parties.

Ahead of the Zilla Parishad elections in Nandurbar district, the three main Mahayuti parties, the BJP, Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) and the Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar faction), have already signalled their readiness to contest on their own. With the allies squaring up against each other even before the polls, political circles in Khandesh are abuzz, and the political clash has already sharpened.

Instead of forming the Mahayuti and fighting together, local leaders of the three parties are in the mood to test their strength alone in order to strengthen their own organisations. This has raised the likelihood of triangular or four-cornered contests in the district rather than friendly fights.

Local BJP leaders have expressed firm confidence that, on the strength of development work done through the party and with the government's cooperation in recent times, they will win a majority on their own. The Shiv Sena and the NCP, for their part, have also begun framing separate strategies to tighten their hold on their traditional constituencies.