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Revolt in Maharashtra state BJP

In Konkan, the sitting BJP MLA from Guhagar, Dr Vinay Natu raised the flag of revolt, protesting the party’s decision to give away his constituency to ‘friend’ Shiv Sena.

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Hours after finalising a seal-sharing deal with its alliance partner, the Shiva Sena, the Bharatiya Janata Party received severe shocks in the Konkan and Vidarbha regions.

In Konkan, the sitting BJP MLA from Guhagar, Dr Vinay Natu raised the flag of revolt, protesting the party’s decision to give away his constituency to ‘friend’ Shiv Sena. He floated an organisation, the ‘Shridhar Sena’, and announced his decision to contest the election as an independent.

In Vidarbha, BJP officials have resigned en masse, protesting the handing over of the Achalpur assembly seat to the Shiv Sena. The party may end up facing similar troubles in other parts of the state dominated by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Natu, a hardcore RSS activist, made up his mind break away after BJP general secretary Gopinath Munde announced that “the Shiv Sena will contest from Guhagar.” Most BJP officials and RSS workers in Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri and Raigad have come out openly in Natu’s support. Shiv Sena’s leader of opposition, Ramdas Kadam, is expected to contest from Guhagar.

“The seniors in the party have broken my trust,” said Natu. His supporters say he felt humiliated by the party’s decision. Natu called a meeting of his supporters and floated ‘Shridhar Sena’, named after his late father and former MLA Shridhar Natu. “He (Natu) will be filing his nomination papers on September 23,” one of Natu’s supporters said.

The Natus have been winning the Guhagar seat, where the RSS has a strong base, since 1972. Giving up the Guhagar seat could push the BJP towards extinction in the Konkan region. Out of the 15 seats in the Konkan, it will then be contesting only two: Ratnagiri and Kankavali. But in both these seats, its chances of victory are slim.

Political observers believe that Munde gave away the Guhagar seat to the Sena because the latter was ready to give the Ghatkopar (W) seat to the BJP, for Poonam Mahajan, who is Munde’s niece and the late Pramod Mahajan’s daughter.

Munde, however, denied the allegation. “Guhagar was given to Sena not because of Poonam,” he said. “It is true that the BJP is going to contest from Ghatkopar (W) but we have still not finalised the candidate. Nitinji [BJP state president Nitin Gadkari] will decide whether Poonam will be fielded or not.”

The BJP may face more of Guhagar-like revolts in other RSS strongholds, such as Dombivli, Pune, Jalgaon and Nagpur. “In Dombivli, votes could get divided in families that support the BJP. The men may vote for the BJP, but the women may opt for the MNS,” said a RSS worker in Dombivli.

Munde said that he will try to bring around the workers disappointed by the party’s decisions. “Remember, Gadkari is the biggest supporter of the RSS, followed by me,” he added.

The Sena and BJP workers may clash in at least seven constituencies: Malabar Hill, Tulzapur, Patur, Achalpur, Morshi, Hingoli and Miraj. Several Sena workers in Tulzapur resigned from party posts after the constituency went to the BJP in the seat-sharing.

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