Maharashtra: CM Fadnavis picks top leaders to quell rebellion in BJP across state

BJP faces internal dissent as rebel candidates emerge in municipal polls. Leaders, including CM Fadnavis, are urging them to withdraw nominations.

MUMBAI: With the spike in the number of rebel voices emerging in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) across the state in almost all municipal corporations, the party has set up a parallel system involving senior leaders to persuade the dissidents to withdraw their nominations. Key leaders, including chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, have stepped up to coax the defiant, with a promise of placing them in the legislative council or statutory boards.

CM Devendra Fadnavis (Hindustan Times)

Party workers in at least 12 wards in Mumbai have posed challenges for official candidates by filing nominations. Cultural affairs minister Ashish Shelar and Mumbai BJP chief Ameet Satam have the responsibility to turn them around.

People in the know have said that Fadnavis has hand-picked his close confidantes for the job, and has urged a few stern rebels across the state, to withdraw their nomination forms with an assurance that they “will be looked after”.

Internal rift within the party in Nashik is spelling trouble for four officially declared candidates. The district’s loyal party workers have staunchly opposed Sudhakar Badgujar’s family members who have been fielded as candidates in three different wards. Badgujar joined the BJP a few months ago, exiting Shiv Sena (UBT). As this district is the hardest hit by rebellion and discontent, water resources minister Girish Mahajan is working with them.

In Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporations, the task of persuading rebel candidates has been assigned to Union minister Murlidhar Mohol, and state higher and technical education minister Chandrakant Patil.

Rural development minister Jaykumar Gore is hard at work in Solapur while former Union minister Bhagwat Karad and OBC minister Atul Save are attempting to douse the fires in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Likewise, revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, who is also the state-level election in-charge for the party, has camped in Nagpur with a similar task.

A senior leader of the party said, “Some have been promised opportunities as nominated members in municipal corporations or positions on various state- and district-level government committees. Others have been assured that they will be considered in the legislative council polls.”

The chief minister and other senior leaders have spoken to leaders such as Pune MP Medha Kulkarni, Thane MLA Sanjay Kelkar and Navi Mumbai MLA Manda Mhatre who are upset with the party for its failure to nominate loyalists. “These leaders are being convinced that steps will be taken to give justice to the workers in the near future. They were also told about the unprecedented situation that prevailed, subsequent to the party’s strategy of widening its base,” the leader added, pointing to the party’s “problem of plenty” following a poaching spree.

“While a similar scenario also prevailed during the Assembly polls, it has intensified this time. Even if the leadership manages to convince the rebels to withdraw, the shadow of damage stemming from discontent will always loom large over the party,” he added.

“There is discontent among party workers, but we have explained to them about the reasons behind the party’s stance. We are confident that they will be convinced and start campaigning for the official candidates of the party. BJP workers and leaders never go against the party diktat and interest of the organisation,” said Bawankule.

The last day of withdrawing nominations for the polls to 29 municipal corporations is Friday. For a total of 2,869 seats across the corporations, as many as 33,606 nomination forms were filed by December 30, the last day of submitting nominations.

The scrutiny of forms on Wednesday (December 31) rendered many candidates from major parties as invalid.

Since this is a multi-cornered high stakes poll, the number of independent candidates is also likely to be high, said an SEC official.