Allies at war: It’s Sena vs BJP in Palghar bypolls

This is the first time Shiv Sena has fielded a candidate for a seat held by its ally — an indication of the widening rift between the governing allies.

There may be a year to go for the next general elections, but the state is witnessing its first poll battle between saffron allies Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Palghar.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray.

The Sena on Tuesday fielded Shrinivas Wanga, son of former BJP MP Chintaman Wanga, for the Palghar Lok Sabha constituency bypoll, which will be held on May 28. The by-election, necessitated by Wanga’s death in January this year, is all set to turn into a high-voltage contest between the Sena and BJP.

This is the first time Shiv Sena has fielded a candidate for a seat held by its ally — an indication of the widening rift between the governing allies.

Irked by the Sena’s move, BJP poached from the Congress and admitted its former minister Rajendra Gavit, who had contested the 2014 elections against the late Wanga, to its fold. The BJP is likely to announce Gavit as its candidate on Wednesday.

BVA holds three of six assembly segments in Palghar.

On Tuesday, Wanga filed his nomination in Palghar amid a massive show of strength. He was flanked by his family and senior Sena leader and Maharashtra minister Eknath Shinde.

The minister said the BJP should have “respected” the late MP’s work in the region and given the ticket to a family member. “In the past, whenever a senior leader’s seat is vacated by his or her death, the ticket is given to the leader’s kin, and all parties support the decision,” Shinde said. “Uddhavji (Thackeray, the Sena president) has always supported others without looking at the party. Similiarly, Shrinivas has today started his journey to take his father’s good work forward.”

On the backfoot after the Sena’s decision, the BJP poached former Congress legislator and minister of state from the area, Gavit, to save its seat and put up a formidable fight. Hours after the Sena filed Wanga’s nomination, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and state BJP president Raosaheb Danve held a press conference inducting Gavit into their party, and announced his candidature for the seat.

“The Shiv Sena should not have behaved liked this,” said a visibly miffed Fadnavis at the press conference in the BJP office in Nariman Point. “Whatever has happened is unfortunate. I had clearly spelt out that we had planned to give Wanga the nomination. This is a BJP seat. Come what may, the BJP will win this seat. That can be the only real tribute to our late MP Chintaman Wanga.”

Both Danve and Fadnavis also pointed out the BJP had supported its ally in the last two assembly by-polls where the seats belonged to the Sena. “We expected the Sena to support us in these bypolls,” said Danve. He added that he was happy Gavit was joining the BJP, as he has worked for the constituency and was responsible for the carving of a separate Palghar district. Gavit, meanwhile, told mediapersons he had joined the BJP because of its development agenda.

The Congress, faced with a last-minute rebellion, gave the candidature to their former MP from the area, Damodar Shingada. Maharashtra Congress chief Ashok Chavan on Tuesday said the party had considered Gavit as one of its probable candidates. Chavan asked why the BJP could not get its own candidate and needed to “import one from other parties”.

Another senior Congress leader said they were hopeful of winning the seat, as Gavit was considered an “outsider” in the area. “Gavit is from the Bhilla community, while a majority of the tribal voters in the constituency are from the Varli and Katkari communities. He also is seen as an outsider as he lives in Mira Road,” said a Congress leader.

The BJP, meanwhile, is vying for BVA’s support by convincing Thakur not to field his candidate. Vasai and Virar are BVA’s citadel, while the BJP and Sena dominate other parts of the constituency.

Traditionally, the BVA has always supported governing parties, and is unlikely to fight the BJP when it is in need of support. Thakur scheduled a party meeting to announce his candidate on Tuesday, but postponed it to May 10. “The party is considering Rajesh Patil as its candidate, but it all depends on the BJP’s stand,” said a leader close to BVA.