Tension in Mulund after Kotecha’s office attacked

Kotecha, who is contesting against Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Sanjay Dina Patil from the constituency, claimed the incident was politically motivated and refused to comment further. Some BJP leaders said the attack was orchestrated by Sena (UBT) leaders

Mumbai: The Bharatiya Janata Party has claimed that the Mulund office of its Mumbai North East candidate, Mihir Kotecha, was attacked on Friday evening.

Mumbai, India - April 29, 2024: Mihir Kotecha, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Mulund, filed his nomination for the Mumbai Northeast Lok Sabha Constituency talked about his vision for the constituency in an interaction with the HT Mumbai team at HT officein Mumbai, India, on Monday, April 29, 2024. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

The incident allegedly occurred a few hours before the mega rallies organised by the Mahayuti (Shiv Sena, BJP and NCP) and Maha Vikas Aghadi (Shiv Sena UBT, NCP- SP and Congress)alliances in the city.

Kotecha, who is contesting against Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Sanjay Dina Patil from the constituency, claimed the incident was politically motivated and refused to comment further. Some BJP leaders said the attack was orchestrated by Sena (UBT) leaders.

Sources said deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis reached the office at Mulund to take stock of the situation. No FIR was filed till the time of going to the press.

A video posted on social media showed quarrelling between people outside Kotecha’s office. Some BJP party workers said they were on their way to Shivaji Park to attend Modi’s rally when they saw some people outside Kotecha’s office distributing money. Party workers alleged that the incident was staged by Sena (UBT).

After the blame was put on the Uddhav-led Sena, its leader Sanjay Dina Patil reached the spot to assess the situation but that led to an argument between BJP and Sena (UBT) workers, said a source.

Till the time of going to press, both BJP and Sena (UBT) leaders did not react to the issue. On May 8, a Gujarati-dominated housing society in Ghatkopar allegedly stopped Shiv Sena (UBT) party workers from entering on the basis of them being Maharashtrian. Ghatkopar also falls under the Kotecha’s constituency.

Similarly, in the past, Kotecha’s Prachar Rath encountered two incidents - one where unidentified people scratched his rath in Ghatkopar and second was a stone pelting incident in Govandi by unidentified people.

No police complaint was filed in either of the cases.