He was roundly criticised for his ostentatious display of wealth and the party was under pressure to do something about the businessman turned politician
Last year, around this time Narendra Mehta's name splashed across social media as his wife rammed her Rs 5.5 crore Lamborghini into an autorickshaw the day he gifted it to her. He was roundly criticised for his ostentatious display of wealth and the party was under pressure to do something about the businessman turned politician. The party bosses kept their calm and their faith in him. Today, he has delivered a spectacular win for the party winning 61 out of 95 seats in a civic body that was dominated by the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
Mehta, who handles construction, health care and education projects, attributes the party's victory to strong organisational network, tacit support of party leadership, especially the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and enrollment of new voters in the jurisdiction of civic body. He was at the forefront to put in place a comprehensive poll strategy, which was weaved around Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Sabka saath sabka vikas theme.
Mehta, who joined politics as an independent in 1997 and has served as the mayor of the MMRC before joining BJP in 2009, also effectively sold to the voters that BJP rule in the civic body will help seek much needed funds from the Central and state government to boost growth. He harped on the inaction by Congress and NCP during its 25-year rule to fast track development and reminded voters how the BJP sanctioned Rs 12,000 crore to the civic body since last two and half years when BJP held the mayoral post.
Notwithstanding the social media chatter over his wife's Lamborghini, Mehta is not new to controversy. He and other five officers of Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation were booked for allegedly demanding Rs 2 crore from a builder in 2015. While the complaint was an old one,action was taken in January. Mehta had stoutly denied the allegations.
In a role reversal of sorts, Mehta himself alerted the state Anti-Corruption Bureau when director of a Delhi-based contractual bus company tried to offer him a bribe of Rs 25 lakh and got him arrested.
Though a class 8 dropout, Mehta is the founder of the Seven Eleven Group of companies that has a 100-bed hospital, and a CBSE school besides mega affordable township project Apna Ghar to its credit. Now onus is on Mehta to deliver a long list of poll promises which include construction of concrete roads, stadium, chowpatty, 24x7 water and development of more colleges.
CONTROVERSIES
- In 2016, Narendra Mehta was in the news when his wife rammed a newly purchased Rs 5.5 crore Lamborghini into an autorickshaw
- In 2015, Mehta and five other officers of Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation were booked for allegedly demanding Rs 2 crore from a builder. Mehta, however, stoutly denied the allegations
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