Mulund MLA, 80, seeks ticket for son, a PMC Bank director

Sardar Tara Singh, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA in Mumbai, who is unable to get a ticket owing to the age criteria fixed by the party, has demanded a ticket

Sardar Tara Singh, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA in Mumbai, who is unable to get a ticket owing to the age criteria fixed by the party, has demanded a ticket for his son, Rajneet Singh, who is one of the directors of Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank, which is currently in trouble.

HT Image

Singh, 80, a four-time MLA from Mulund, reached out to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday.

PMC Bank is currently facing a slew of restrictions imposed by the RBI for regulatory lapses. The Opposition Congress has demanded that all directors of the bank should resign or made to resign.

Rajneet is a member of the BJP and had also sought a party ticket during the 2017 civic elections. “Now that my party (BJP) has decided not to give tickets to those above 75, I would like my son to contest so that the family can continue to work for people of Mulund. I am meeting the chief minister in this regard.”

Regarding the PMC Bank controversy, he said: “Rajneet has nothing to do with the current crisis. He has nothing to do with loan disbursals.”

Rubbishing the age limit, which was announced by BJP state president Chandrakant Patil last week, Singh said: “I never disappoint citizens. I help them in every way possible.”

Meanwhile, sources said that there are many contenders in the fray for the seat in Mulund. “Singh has been an MLA from Mulund for very long. Now there are many contenders like Prabhakar Shinde and Prakash Gangadhare,” the source said.

A Sena functionary earlier, Shinde joined the BJP before the 2017 civic elections and won. Gangadhare is also a BJP corporator from Mulund.

There is suspense over the candidature even in other areas of Mumbai’s North-East. As Patil had said the BJP will decide if people facing graft charges will be allowed to contest or not, there are doubts over Ghatkopar East MLA Prakash Mehta getting a ticket.

A BJP functionary from Ghatkopar confirmed it is still not clear if the party will field Mehta. However, Fadnavis had released a report on Mehta’s five-year tenure in an event last week.

Even in Bhandup, which has been Sena’s bastion, Sena corporator Ramesh Koregaonkar’s name is doing the rounds. Sena’s Ashok Patil is currently the MLA from Bhandup, while Koregaonkar is a four-time corporator and a well-known name in the area.