Irked Mungantiwar blames ‘inflow into party’ for defeat in Chandrapur polls

Of the 11 municipal councils in Chandrapur district, the BJP could win only one while the rival Congress won seven, and the remaining bodies by Shiv Sena and independents

MUMBAI: After the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) poor performance in the local body polls in Chandrapur, Vidarbha, the party’s senior leader and former state finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar has voiced his dissatisfaction over its inner workings, blaming the “inflow into the party” for the losses suffered in the district.

Sudhir Mungantiwar (HT Photo)

Of the 11 municipal councils in Chandrapur district, the BJP could win only one while the rival Congress won seven, and the remaining bodies by Shiv Sena and independents.

Attacking the leadership, Mungantiwar pointed out how the Congress had supported its local leader Vijiay Wadettiwar unlike the BJP. “I was not even made a minister. In fact, there is no minister from Chandrapur, Gondia and Gadchiroli districts,” he lamented.

Mungantiwar was left out of the cabinet when Mahayuti 2.0 was formed led by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis last year. Ahead of the 2024 assembly elections, BJP inducted an independent MLA Kishor Jorgewar in the party in Chandrapur district, despite Mungantiwar’s objection. It is believed that the party suffered the recent losses due to infighting between the new and old leaders.

Chandrapur is the only district in Maharashtra where the Congress won maximum civic bodies.

A BJP veteran, Mungantiwar was elected to the state assembly for five terms, and considered close to union minister Nitin Gadkari. He was selected the state BJP chief in 2010, and a contender for the CM’s post when the party came to power in 2014. He was then made finance minister. In 2022 when the party returned to power in alliance with the Shinde-led Sena, he was made forest minister. As the Mahayuti formed the government after last year’s election, he was not included in the state cabinet. Since then, Mungantiwar has been expressing his unhappiness.

On Monday, Mungantiwar had said that he would soon tour the state and meet party workers but he changed his stance on Tuesday, saying he had decided not to speak on the issue. Senior BJP leader and revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said Mungantiwar “had the party’s support”, which would look into issues raised by him.