Navi Mumbai: 28 Former Corporators Rejoin BJP Ahead Of NMMC Polls

 Ahead of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC ) elections, political realignments continue as 28 former corporators have returned to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after a short association with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

A formal induction ceremony was held on Tuesday at the BJP headquarters in Dadar, where these former corporators, along with 24 office bearers, reaffirmed their allegiance to the BJP. During the Lok Sabha elections held in November, these leaders had joined the NCP alongside Sandeep Naik.

"Our core ideology has always been aligned with BJP. However, the denial of a ticket to our candidate during the Lok Sabha elections led to our departure. After the elections, we had already resumed working for the party, and on Wednesday, our formal return took place," said former Nerul corporator Ravindra Ithape.

The induction event was attended by MP Dr. Sanjeev Naik and MLA & BJP General Secretary Vikrant Patil.

Meanwhile, NCP leader Sandeep Sutar stated that he and his wife would remain committed to the NCP.

"No matter what, we will never leave the party. Our allegiance will always be with Sharad Pawar. The switch by others was expected, as their decision to join earlier was based on personal interests whereas we have none," Sutar remarked.

When asked about the possibility of Sandeep Naik also returning to the BJP, corporators who made the switch  responded that it remains a "wait and watch" situation.