Upset Ganesh Naik supporters quit BJP, ask his son to contest as Independent

BJP office bearers, including former corporators, have resigned en masse, alleging that the party has continuously treated the former minister unfairly

The announcement of Naresh Mhaske of the Shiv Sena as the Maha Yuti candidate for the Thane Lok Sabha constituency, which had been much delayed, has sparked an uproar among supporters of local strongman Ganesh Naik in Navi Mumbai. Sanjeev Naik, the elder son of the former Maharashtra minister, had been preparing for months to contest as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate. In protest, BJP office bearers, including former corporators, have resigned en masse, alleging that the party has continuously treated the former minister unfairly. Moreover, they have urged Sanjeev Naik to contest as an independent candidate.

Maharashtra BJP leader Ganesh Naik. (Facebook photo)

The resignations by party workers, which began on Wednesday, reached their peak on Thursday as Naik loyalists gathered at Crystal House, Ganesh Naik’s office, where he was present along with his sons, Sanjeev and Sandeep Naik, the city BJP chief. Despite the Naiks’ attempts to pacify the supporters, they submitted their resignations.

As Naik loyalists raised slogans and protested at his office, Maha Yuti candidate Mhaske and MLA Pratap Sarnaik arrived to meet with him. They witnessed the opposition there and met with Naik separately before departing shortly afterwards.

Former corporator Ravindra Ithape said, “We will not tolerate any more injustice in the party against our leader. We have all hence resigned and have declared our support to Sanjeev Naik to contest as an independent. Navi Mumbai fully supports the Naiks irrespective of which party they belong. They cannot be treated in this manner by the party (BJP) that has gained because of them.”

Another former corporator, Prakash More, stated that they had been working towards Sanjeev’s candidature and had never opposed anyone else’s candidature, including that of Mhaske. “However, the Shiv Sena leaders here had been constantly opposing Sanjeev’s name. This is not done in an alliance,” said More. “The Naiks are still trying to pacify and holding meetings with us, but we are adamant and want to send a strong message to BJP. We are confident that Sanjeev will win the election even if he stands as an independent.”

Following the resignations, BJP city youth wing chief Suraj Patil addressed the Naik loyalists and explained their future course of action. “We have decided to go to Mumbai and meet BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule and deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis. We will make our stand clear to them,” said More.

Rahul Shinde, a close associate of the Naiks who was among the first to speak out and resign on the issue on Wednesday when he posted a message on social media to Ganesh Naik, said, “The BJP has constantly been meting out injustice to our leader. They first denied him the assembly ticket from Belapur but we kept quiet and worked for Manda Mhatre as asked by him. Then he was denied a ministry in the cabinet. Now Sanjeev Naik has been denied a ticket. How long do we take this?” He added, “I resigned from the party and will continue to work for Ganesh Naik as he is my only leader.”

Meanwhile, Sandeep Naik had said on Wednesday, “It is natural for the party workers to be upset over denial of ticket to their leaders. It is momentary. We are all working to ensure PM Narendra Modi becomes the prime minister again irrespective of the candidate and will continue to do so.”

He added, “There will be no stone unturned to ensure the victory of the Maha Yuti candidate. I have myself held several meetings after the announcement of the candidature.”

The background to this issue is that Airoli MLA Ganesh Naik had quit the NCP in 2019 prior to the assembly elections to join BJP along with his corporators in Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation. Naik has had a stronghold on the city, having ruled it for years and leading the NCP to victories in the civic, assembly, and Lok Sabha elections. He took the call in Thane district on party ticket allotments and policy decisions.

A minister for 15 years, Naik suffered a shocking defeat in the assembly elections from Belapur constituency in 2014. As the Modi wave swept the country, his younger son, the then Airoli MLA Sandeep Naik, first joined BJP, followed by Naik and his supporters along with Sanjeev Naik. The party denied Naik a ticket from Belapur, fielding incumbent MLA Sandeep from Airoli instead. Sandeep, however, gave up his seat to his father to contest, which Naik won comfortably. After the change in government, he was expected to be made a minister due to his seniority, but it did not happen.

With the Lok Sabha elections due, Sanjeev Naik, who represented Thane from 2009 to 2014 but lost to Rajan Vichare in 2014, got into action mode and virtually started his campaign months ahead. He had been organising and attending a host of programmes, meeting people all over the constituency. It was widely believed that he would be the front runner if the BJP, which had been keen about getting the constituency, got the seat. However, with chief minister Eknath Shinde managing to hold on to the seat in his bastion as he made it a prestige issue, Sanjeev Naik’s plans have suffered a huge setback.

The Naik supporters are naturally not amused. Several have posted on social media their decisions and feelings through messages. Many have copy-pasted a message detailing the injustice meted out to the Naiks by the party and declaring that they will no longer work for it and remain loyal only to the Naiks, whom they have called their only leader. They claim that the refusal of a ticket to Sanjeev Naik will ensure an easy victory for Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate and incumbent MP Rajan Vichare.