BJP leader Kirit Somaiya has rejected his appointment as the head of the campaign committee by the party for the Maharashtra elections. He has written a letter in this regard, which has brought to the fore the internal strife going on in the BJP unit of Maharashtra. In fact, to streamline the party’s efforts with the aim of countering the opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in the state, an election management committee has been announced, which has given rise to internal controversy in the BJP.
Kirit Somaiya is known for his anti-corruption campaign. He has spent the last five and a half years exposing the alleged corruption of several MVA leaders and had taken on the Uddhav Thackeray faction. However, his own party neither allowed him to contest the Lok Sabha elections nor sent him to the Rajya Sabha. At the same time, leaders like Munna Mahadik and Ashok Chavan, who came from other parties, were given the opportunity to represent the party in the upper house of Parliament. This raised serious questions about the existence of leaders loyal to the party in Maharashtra BJP.
I am an ordinary party worker, I have no greed for any post: Somaiya
Talking to a news channel about his refusal to become the president of BJP’s campaign committee, Kirit Somaiya said, ‘I do not covet any post. Bawankule and Fadnavis know how I have worked for the party. I have worked as a simple worker. I have proved that a simple worker in the party should have more weight than Fadnavis and Bawankule. If I am working so much for my party, then I do not need extra things like a post in any committee. My party has accepted this.’
Earlier, Madhav Bhandari’s son Chinmay Bhandari had written an emotional open letter expressing regret and pain over his father not getting his due even after fifty years of selfless service to the party. Let us tell you that Madhav Bhandari has been among the most experienced leaders of the Maharashtra BJP unit and has served as the former chief state spokesperson. Chinmay Bhandari wrote in his letter, ‘I have seen my father’s name in the list of contenders for the Legislative Assembly or Upper House 12 times in my life. And every time he has been disappointed. I am not in a position to question or criticize the leadership. I do not even want to do so. Because, like my father, I also believe in them. But being hopeful again and again and then feeling the pain of disappointment has become our habit.’
This is a deeply personal post, and it is my personal thought process.
Not many know that I am @Madhavbhandari_ (Madhav Bhandari, Vice President of BJP Maharashtra) son.
Today, I want to write about my father.
My father joined the Jansangh/Janata Party in 1975, a few years… pic.twitter.com/SHMzOtwFHn
— Chinmay Bhandari (@iTsChinmay) February 15, 2024
Also, at a meeting on August 3, BJP leader and former minister Prakash Mehta had announced his candidature from the Ghatkopar assembly constituency, citing pressure from party cadre. However, he was denied a ticket in the 2019 assembly elections after his name cropped up in an alleged land scam during the tenure of deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, leading to a huge uproar among the local cadre. Parag Shah, the sitting MLA from Ghatkopar, was fielded in place of Prakash Mehta in 2019.
The confusion in the party does not seem to end here as the central leadership has objected to the state leadership’s plan to launch a statewide Jan Samvad Yatra, citing protests by distressed farmers and Maratha reservation agitators across the state. The central leadership has suggested that taking out the yatra at such a time may hurt public sentiments more than ever. After a day-long convention on July 21 in Pune, Maharashtra BJP was to announce a month-long Jan Samvad Yatra across 288 assembly seats. Nineteen central and state leaders were planned to visit at least two to three Lok Sabha constituencies on the lines of the Mahajanadesh Yatra undertaken by then CM Devendra Fadnavis before the 2019 assembly elections.
Similarly, the alliance with the Ajit Pawar-led NCP had a serious impact on the ground. This made it difficult for BJP workers to work in harmony with those against whom they have shed blood and sweat and struggled for years. Many party leaders and officials are also angry over the unequal distribution of local body funds among their favourite workers and contractors. NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) state president Jayant Patil targeted the BJP. Patil said that Amit Shah does not know what is going on in Devendra Fadnavis’ mind. There is a lack of communication between the two and Devendra Fadnavis is not able to work according to his wishes in Maharashtra. Therefore, the trouble has increased. The public has rejected the trio of Shiv Sena, BJP, NCP.
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