NCP’s Ganesh Naik, MLA son, supporters likely to join BJP

Mumbai: The Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), which is already battling a series of defections, is in for another jolt, as its heavyweight in Navi Mumbai Ganesh Naik and his MLA son Sandeep Naik are expected to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Apart from the duo, 52 NCP corporators, who are the Naiks’ supporters, have also decided to follow in their footsteps, which will result in the party losing its power in the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC).

According to sources, the corporators convened a meeting on Monday, in which they unanimously decided to quit the NCP and join the BJP. However, Mr Naik has kept mum on the matter. “A sizable number of corporators on Monday held a meeting in Navi Mumbai and appealed to Sandeep to join the BJP ahead of the Assembly elections,” said a party insider.

A faction led by Mr Naik has traditionally dominated the politics of Navi Mumbai. But in the last Vidhan Sabha election, the BJP’s Manda Mhatre defeated him in the Belapur constituency.

In the Lok Sabha election, the NCP candidate Anand Paranjape trailed behind in Belapur by 40,000 votes whereas in Airoli, where Sandeep is an MLA, the NCP was behind by 45,000 votes.