Shinde eyes NCP ex-corporators to strengthen Thane bastion

The civic elections are likely to be held over the next couple of months. While, Mumbai will be the battleground, where Shiv Sena has ruled for close to three decades, Thane will not be ignored. It is Shinde’s stronghold but the Thackeray faction feels it has strong sympathisers, given its special bond from the past. It is here that Shiv Sena won its first municipal election

Mumbai: With civic polls on the anvil, chief minister Eknath Shinde has now set his eyes on Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) corporators to strengthen his party in order to give a tough fight to the opposition Sena (UBT)-NCP alliance, on his home turf, Thane.

Shinde is looking to make good of the differences between members within the NCP camp and it is believed that some of them are already in touch with him. The theory got credence when former corporators, Najib Mulla and Hanumant Jagdale, did not attend Pawar’s meeting on Wednesday. (Deepak Salvi)

This was in evidence when on Wednesday NCP leader Ajit Pawar called a meeting with all his 34 ex-corporators at Vidhan Bhavan; 25 turned up and two key leaders gave it a miss.

The civic elections are likely to be held over the next couple of months. While, Mumbai will be the battleground, where Shiv Sena has ruled for close to three decades, Thane will not be ignored. It is Shinde’s stronghold but the Thackeray faction feels it has strong sympathisers, given its special bond from the past. It is here that Shiv Sena won its first municipal election.

Shiv Sena (UBT) is likely to forge an alliance with NCP, the main opposition party in the city. Sensing the strength in numbers, the Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena (BSS)-Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) alliance, is out to fortify itself.

Shinde is looking to make good of the differences between members within the NCP camp and it is believed that some of them are already in touch with him. The theory got credence when former corporators, Najib Mulla and Hanumant Jagdale, did not attend Pawar’s meeting on Wednesday. According to insiders, Shinde is speeding up talks with many ex-corporators who won in the last civic election, and in all likelihood, around eight to ten of them may switch sides.

NCP leader Jitendra Awhad, who controls the party unit in Thane, alleged on social media that his partymen were being lured with lucrative offers. Thane Municipal Corporation has 131 ex-corporators, of which 34 are with NCP, 67 with Shiv Sena, 23 with BJP and three with Congress.

On Wednesday Pawar heard the grievances of the ex-corporators and assured them a better political future in the party, making an appeal for loyalty. Speaking to the media after the meeting, Awhad said, “Use of money and misuse of power will not succeed in Thane. NCP will remain strong and united.” He added that the meeting with Pawar boosted the morale of the party men, also sharing that Pawar had insisted that the “current government and situation will not last for long”.

Naresh Mhaske, spokesperson for BSS, however retorted that Awhad should look within to understand why ex-corporators were not happy with NCP. “That leaders like Ajit Pawar should hold meetings with ex-corporators and local leaders of Thane says a lot about the party. Jitendra Awhad should answer why leaders from Thane and even his constituency, Kalwa-Mumbra, are unhappy with him,” said Mhaske.

Awhad fears arrest ahead of civic polls

Former NCP minister Jitendra Awhad is apprehensive that he may be arrested in a ‘fake case’ ahead of the local body elections in Thane. He aired his fears in Ajit Pawar’s meeting on Wednesday.

“Awhad believes that he would be targeted owing to the rivalry between the leaders of the Sena factions. He asked the party leadership to consider this and prepare accordingly,” said an NCP leader privy to the development.

In November 2022, the Thane police had booked Awhad on charges of molestation after he allegedly pushed a female BJP office-bearer while trying to make his way through a crowd in Thane city after an event. Within days, he was arrested by the police for allegedly stopping the late-night screening of a Marathi movie at a multiplex in Thane on November 7. It was alleged that the film had distorted the history of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj to create a political hype.