Mumbai polls: BJP talks tough with Vinod Tawde

Opposition leader Vinod Tawde’s wife Varsha’s campaigning for Jyoti Alvani, who has challenged the official BJP candidate Priti Bane in Ward No 80 in Vile-Parle (East), has not gone down well in state BJP circles.

After all-India BJP president Nitin Gadkari refused to entertain their complaint, Tawde’s detractors demanded the precedent should not go unnoticed. “The wife of a senior leader like Tawde, who holds an important portfolio, supporting a rebel is serious business,” they said.

According to insiders,  state BJP president Sudhir Mungantiwar in a closed-door meeting with Tawde, sought an explanation for Varsha “supporting” a rebel candidate. Tawde stated that she had the right to her personal views. “My wife in her individual capacity, as a friend of Alvani, may have lent a helping hand to her,” Tawde allegedly said.

When Mungantiwar asserted that it was sending “politically wrong” signals, Tawde, as proof of his loyalty recalled how he had reined in all the nine rebels. He clarified, “My role is confined to campaigning for the official candidate.”

Dismissing the anti-Tawde groups’ demand for stern action, Mungantiwar decided to end the matter with a tough talk. And half an hour later, both Mungantiwar and Tawde shared the dais at a function in Dadar.