In the run up to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation polls scheduled for 2017, the BJP is likely to retain its Mumbai unit party president Ashish Shelar, in an apparent bid to keep its ally Shiv Se
In the run up to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation polls scheduled for 2017, the BJP is likely to retain its Mumbai unit party president Ashish Shelar, in an apparent bid to keep its ally Shiv Sena in check.
The BJP has called a meeting of party functionaries on Wednesday at Shanmukhananda Hall in Central Mumbai, to elect the party president of the island city. “Every party has the right to strengthen and widen its base. BJP too wants power in the BMC. At such a time the party will need an aggressive leader and Ashish Shelar fulfills the criteria. Thus, he would be given a second opportunity to bring the BJP to power in the civic Corporation with a majority,” Atul Shah, BJP spokesperson told reporters on Monday.
Mr Shelar who is seen to be eager to become a minister in Maharashtra Cabinet was reportedly not ready to work on the same post. He had, however, said that he would accept whatever decision is taken by the party while speaking to media last week.
Miffed with the Sena’s repeated criticism of the BJP over a host of issues, Mr Shelar had recently openly targeted the Sena chief and party mouthpiece Saamana. He had threatened that the party cadres would burn copies of Saamana if Sena does not stop mocking BJP president Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Meanwhile, Raosaheb Danve, state president of BJP has said that the decision of an alliance with the Sena for BMC polls would be taken at an appropriate time. There are currently 227 corporator wards or constituencies of the BMC that are ruled by the Sena-BJP combine.
