Missing Sena (UBT) corporator back with party, was on a ‘temple visit’

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena (UBT), the single largest opposition party in the BMC with 65 seats, has now locked in its roster of newly elected corporators, but not before some tricky moments

MUMBAI: Missing Shiv Sena (UBT) corporator, Sarita Mhaske, has surfaced, claiming she was travelling to Dharashiv to visit a temple, which is why she couldn’t join her party colleagues when they registered themselves with the Konkan divisional commissioner after the recent civic elections.

Missing Sena (UBT) corporator back with party, was on a ‘temple visit’

Party insiders, however, say that Mhaske, elected from Ward 157 in Chembur, was tempted to return to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, with whom she was before she switched to the Sena (UBT).

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena (UBT), the single largest opposition party in the BMC with 65 seats, has now locked in its roster of newly elected corporators, but not before some tricky moments.

When the party instructed its corporators to assemble at its headquarters on Wednesday, Mhaske was the only one absent. The remaining 64 were taken to the Konkan divisional commissioner’s office in Navi Mumbai to register themselves as the party’s group of corporators in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.

A senior Sena (UBT) leader said the Sena had sent feelers to Mhaske, hoping to win her back, which prompted counter-moves from the Thackeray faction. Sena (UBT) secretary Milind Narvekar, who was instrumental in getting Mhaske a party ticket for the polls, moved swiftly to get her to stay.

Around midnight, Mhaske reached Narvekar’s residence and confirmed she was with the party. On Thursday, Narvekar and Mhaske met Thackeray. Later, she appeared before the Konkan divisional commissioner and signed the letter as a member of the Sena (UBT) group in the BMC.

“All I can say is all’s well that ends well,” said Narvekar, refusing to say any more. Mhaske, for her part, told the media she was travelling to Dharashiv to visit the Tuljapur temple. “All the rumours are wrong. I had gone for the temple visit. I got the message for yesterday’s meeting late and hence did not attend it. As soon as I returned to the city, I met our senior leaders and confirmed that I was with the party,” she said.

Meanwhile, four newly elected Sena (UBT) corporators in the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) are still incommunicado. Sources say two of them will be supporting the Sena, while the other two are likely to return to the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). The latter were from the MNS but had contested the elections on the Sena (UBT) symbol.

The two parties had contested the civic polls as an alliance in Mumbai and elsewhere in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). The MNS, which has five members in the KDMC, extended its support to the Sena in the KDMC on Wednesday, despite misgivings expressed by the Sena (UBT).