Mumbai:

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was facilitating vaccine production in the country during the pandemic, the then-MVA government in the state was indulging in alleged scams.

Addressing the first mega rally of the BJP in Mumbai, where voting in the Lok Sabha polls will take place on May 20, Fadnavis claimed he would bring out a list of alleged scams that took place in the city civic body BMC and during the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) regime (Nov 2019-June 2022).

“There was a great opportunity for the (MVA) dispensation in the state during the COVID-19 pandemic to demonstrate leadership. PM Modi was leading from the front and provided resources and raw materials to scientists to make the vaccine (against COVID-19).

“But they (MVA government) were indulging in scams like irregularities in supply of ‘khichadi’ (meal for labourers, homeless people) and procurement of body bags. They are ‘kafan chor’ (coffin thief) who did not even spare the dead in their plunder,” alleged the BJP leader, hitting out at his rivals.

The opposition MVA consists of the Shiv Sena (UBT), the Congress and the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar).

“I will soon come out with a list of their scams. I will ask people to wait for sometime so that I can elaborate on their deeds,” said Mr Fadnavis, who holds the home portfolio.

BJP Lok Sabha nominees Piyush Goyal (Mumbai North), Ujjwal Nikam (Mumbai North West) and Mihir Kotecha (Mumbai North East) were present at the rally along with the party’s city unit president Ashish Shelar.

Without naming Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray, Fadnavis said, “Now a days, the standard of his speeches has gone down. He should not forget he is the chief of a political party. I want to warn those who use foul language against us that we can respond to their criticism more severely.” The deputy CM noted that the Shiv Sena under Thackeray’s leadership failed to bring mega projects in the metropolis despite controlling the cash-rich Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for years.

“The BMC’s functioning was always under their control, but they could not bring any mega project for the benefit of citizens of Mumbai. Prime Minister Modi gave projects like metro rail, STPs (Sewage Treatment Plants), Trans Harbour Link (Atal Setu), Coastal Road, the new international airport in Navi Mumbai and helped Mumbai local trains to get better. What is their contribution in any of these projects?” he wondered.

Mumbai has half a dozen Lok Sabha seats and all of them will vote in the fifth phase.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The Congress move to name Abhay Kashinath Patil from Maharashtra’s Akola has put a firm period to its intended  friendly ties with Prakash Ambedkar’s VBA (Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi). Though the alliance plans of the Maha Vikas Aghadi and the VBA fell through, the Congress and Mr Ambedkar had declared support for each other, especially in Akola, a seat the Dalit leader wished to contest.

In Telangana, the Grand Old Party has announced a candidate for Warangal — Kadiyan Kavya, who crossed over from K Chandrasekhar Rao’s Bharat Rashtra Samithi a few days ago. Ms Kavya is daughter of senior BRS leader and sitting MLA Kadiam Srihari, who also served as deputy chief minister in then BRS government. The sitting BRS Lok Sabha member from Warangal, Pasunoori Dayakar, also joined the Congress in Telangana recently.

In Maharashtra, when the MVA and the VBA were discussing seat sharing, the alliance was ready to give Prakash Ambedkar the Akola seat along with four others.

But after the VBA decided to go solo, the Congress — which had been the one pushing for a tie-up — had said it would support Mr Ambedkar from Akola. Mr Ambedkar, whose party has significant support among Dalits in the state, had also promised support to the Congress in multiple seats.

The national party’s move to field its own candidate from the seat, however, indicates it is no longer supporting the VBA as promised and vice versa.

Last week, Mr Ambedkar’s VBA had declared its intention to go it alone in the election, upset over the MVA’s failure to come to an understanding over a handful of contentious seats in the state. Mr Ambedkar later claimed he had spoken to Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil and got his support.

Shortly after, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena UBT had jumped the gun and announced candidates for 17 seats, sparking speculation about an open rift within the MVA. Four of the 17 seats were coveted by the Congress.

Bijnor (UP):

The ruling alliance in Maharashtra as well as the Maha Vikas Aghadi are facing multiple problems in finalising names for some Lok Sabha seats like Sangli, Madha etc, prompting a flurry of meetings before five phase polls begin in the state on April 19.

Prime among these seats is Sangli, a Congress stronghold between 1962 and 2014 before NCP-turned-BJP leader Sanjaykaka Patil wrested it in 2014. He retained it in 2019, partly due to the presence of Gopal Padalkar, a BJP proxy, a political observer said on Sunday.

Sanjaykaka Patil got more than five lakh votes, while Vishal Patil of Swabhimani Paksha and Padalkar received three lakh each, he pointed out.

Vishal Patil’s name was announced by state Congress president Nana Patole for the Sangli seat some days ago, with Mr Patole saying the former came from a family with a political legacy and that local leadership was seeking his candidature.

However, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray announced the name of wrestler Chandrahar Patil from the seat, despite the party being an ally of the Congress.

Vishal Patil is a descendant of former Maharashtra chief minister Vasantdada Patil, against whom NCP founder Sharad Pawar rebelled and got the state’s top post in 1978, due to which the two families have been adversaries, the political observer added.

“In 2019, there was large-scale disappointment against BJP MP Sanjaykaka Patil and Sharad Pawar was aware of it. But due to this political rivalry, Pawar convinced the state Congress leaders to give Sangli Lok Sabha seat to Swabhimani Paksha, a little-known party in the region. Vishal Patil, who was supposed to fight on a Congress ticket, had to contest on the lesser known Swabhimani Paksh symbol (cricket bat) but still got three lakh votes,” a close aide of Vishal Patil said.

“This time, Shiv Sena (UBT), which used to have only one MLA, has already announced its candidate without consulting Congress. Such steps mean giving a cakewalk to the BJP candidate,” the aide claimed.

Speaking on the issue, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said, “The Shiv Sena won both Lok Sabha constituencies in Kolhapur district (in 2019). This time, we gave Kolhapur parliamentary constituency to Congress and Hatkanangale to farmers’ leader Raju Shetti. If we do not claim Sangli, there will be no seat for the Sena (UBT) in western Maharashtra.”

In Satara, Udayanraje Bhosale, a descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, won in 2019 on a NCP ticket and then lost the bypolls after he switched to the BJP. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha but is keen to contest again.

The hitch is he was never on good terms with Ajit Pawar when in the NCP, and the latter is now part of the ruling alliance as deputy chief minister. The NCP has moved a proposal in the ruling alliance laying claim to Satara seat and allowing Mr Bhosale to contest on the ‘clock’ symbol.

Mr Bhosale is not keen as this would mean accepting the Deputy CM’s leadership, and secondly because traditional BJP voters will not vote for him, the political observer claimed.

The situation is more complex in Madha Lok Sabha constituency, which comprises four assembly segments from Solapur and two from Satara. The prominent Ramraje Nimbalkar family from the Phaltan assembly segment in Satara district and Vijaysinh Mohite Patil family from the Malshiras assembly seat in Solapur have expressed their displeasure over Ranjitsinh Naik Nimbalkar’s candidature.

Mr Ramraje is currently a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council from Ajit Pawar-led NCP, while the Mohite-Patil family is with the BJP. Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil’s son Ranjitsinh is also an MLC.

The Sangola (in Solapur) assembly constituency is a stronghold of the Peasants and Workers Party (PWP), having won it for decades except in 2019.

A few days back, PWP leader Jayant Patil rushed to Sangola to hold talks with party workers and later met Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil.

Speaking to reporters, Jayant Patil said, “The result of Madha could be surprising. A lot of discussion is going on.” A video of Ramraje Naik-Nimbalkar addressing a gathering, in which he is pitching for change in candidate, has also gone viral.

Unfazed, Ranjitsinh Naik-Nimbalkar, the BJP candidate who won his maiden Lok Sabha election in 2019, told reporters he was trying to build a consensus and was confident of people’s support.

“Jaykumar Gore, the BJP MLA from Man assembly segment in Satara, is a staunch supporter of Ranjitsinh Naik-Nimbalkar. But apart from Gore, he does not have many supporters,” a political observer claimed.

Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil, a NCP heavyweight from Solapur with strong family ties to the Congress, saw his son Ranjitsinh Mohite-Patil joining the BJP ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and paving the way for Ranjitsinh Naik-Nimbalkar.

The Mohite-Patil family’s relation with the BJP has turned into one of discontent and to maintain control over the district, it is thinking of jumping back to the NCP, especially after Sharad Pawar recently met Vijaysinh Mohite Patil.

Moreover, people believe Madha seat has four assembly segments from Solapur and, hence, the candidate should be from the district, said a political observer.

“It reflects the BJP’s failure to groom leadership in the region despite being in power for 10 years. The BJP in the early years used to denounce such political dynasties like the Mohite-Patils of Solapur or Naik-Nimbalkars of Phaltan Satara,” senior political observer Prakash Akolkar of Mumbai said.

“BJP used to criticise the Congress. Now such families are with the BJP and the party leadership is dragging itself behind them,” he said.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:

The Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, which carries a substantial amount of Dalit support in Maharashtra, has said they are not willing to take a call on joining the Maha Vikas Aghadi unless it gets its act together. In an exclusive interview to NDTV, VBA chief Prakash Ambedkar said the alliance is still undecided over a handful of seats. The VBA would not “open cards” till the MVA takes a call on these seats, he added.

Asked about the MVA’s approach, he said there is “no openness between them”. “They are hiding something. Whether they are going to stay together is the question. The 15 unresolved seats is the big issue,” he added.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi, which wants VBA to join the alliance, held the latest round of seat-sharing discussions with the party today. Later, Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut described the meet as “positive”. Prakash Ambedkar, he added, “is also satisfied with our stand to oust the authoritarian regime of Prime Minister Narendra Modi”.

Mr Ambedkar, the grandson of Dr BR Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution, however, begged to differ. Even the discussions, he said, were not running to form.

“There were two ways of discussion: Join and collectively decide 48 seats or they decide between themselves and then we come in,” he told NDTV.

“They (the MVA) had an understanding on some seats. We asked for that data. There are 15 constituencies in which seat sharing has not taken place. Contentious are 10 seats between Congress and Sena, 5 among all three parties. Unless they decide on these seats, we won’t open our cards,” he added.

Prakash Ambedkar’s party wants five seats. The MVA, sources have said, is earmarking only two for them. Asked about the matter, Mr Ambedkar indicated that the MVA has not made a firm offer yet.

“From newspapers, I’m hearing not more than 3 seats,” he told NDTV. But the difficulty, he indicated, runs deeper than numbers.

“Winnable seats are not getting distributed properly. I don’t think anybody want to join such alliance. We want realignment. Parties and alliances have split in Maharashtra. We were not part of any alliance. Reality is parties have split and leaders have changed sides. So re-adjustment has to be done,” he said.

Asked how many seats his party wanted, Mr Ambedkar said, “We were preparing to fight for 48 seats, we have given the list of seats on which we can concentrate. That list has been shared. We have given a list of 27 seats where we can fight”.

The addition of the VBA to the alliance is expected to increase the heft of the MVA. The group became a political force with an anti-BJP stance after the 2019 Bhima-Koregaon clashes.