Opposition roasts Mahayuti for fielding 5 candidates accused of corruption by BJP’s Kirit Somaiya

Narayan Rane (BJP), Sunil Tatkare (NCP), Sunetra Pawar (NCP), Ravindra Waikar (Shiv Sena), and Yamini Jadhav (Shiv Sena) have faced probes from agencies

MUMBAI: Opposition leaders in Maharashtra have lashed out at the ruling Mahayuti, comprising the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP), Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) and Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar), for fielding at least five candidates for the Lok Sabha polls who BJP leader Kirit Somaiya had accused of corruption before they joined the ruling alliance.

Kirit Somaiya remained defiant despite the criticism, saying he would campaign for Mahayuti candidates in all 48 constituencies in Maharashtra. (Kunal Patil/ Hindustan Times)

The five candidates — Narayan Rane (BJP), Sunil Tatkare (NCP), Sunetra Pawar (NCP), Ravindra Waikar (Shiv Sena), and Yamini Jadhav (Shiv Sena) — have faced probes from agencies such as the Mumbai police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW), the Enforcement Directorate (ED), and the Maharashtra anti-corruption bureau (ACB).

After their nominations were announced, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anil Parab took a dig at the Mahayuti alliance, saying that Somaiya should be made the star campaigner for the five candidates. “For so many days, BJP leader Somaiya was shouting slogans against these candidates and now, suddenly, he must support them. Corruption allegations he had made against these people, which he claims was with the permission of senior BJP leaders, have now vanished. Do senior BJP leaders approve of such things?”

Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said: “The BJP has given tickets to ED specialist candidates. The party needs to fight elections with the symbol of a washing machine and not a lotus if after joining them people become clean. Will Narendra Modi hold rallies for such candidates?”

Somaiya remained defiant despite the criticism, saying he would campaign for Mahayuti candidates in all 48 constituencies in Maharashtra. “One should understand these elections are for choosing the prime minister and we want to make Narendra Modi the PM again. The candidates are just a vehicle to make Modi the PM,” he said.