Bhayandar: With just a few weeks left for Lok Sabha elections, the ayaram-gayaram (party hoppers) culture has once again started gaining momentum in the twin-city.
In continuance with its poaching spree, the local BJP leadership dealt a huge blow to the Congress by pulling their corporator Naresh Patil from Ward No 9, into the party bandwagon on Sunday. Patil, who was considered as a staunch loyalist of former legislator, Gilbert Mendonca, had won on a NCP ticket in 2012.
He managed to retain his seat in 2017, but this time on Congress ticket. This is the third such defection in less than a fortnight after Sena’s Anita Patil and Congress supported corporator Amjad Shaikh switched their loyalties to join the BJP.
Although the Thane parliamentary seat is being contested by Shiv Sen candidate- Rajan Vichare who is entangled in a bitter battle with NCP’s Anand Paranjpe, the aggressive poaching campaign is being seen as an orchestrated plan by BJP legislator Narendra to consolidate his position in the Mira Bhayandar assembly segment (145) which falls under this constituency.
The Opposition fears ruling dispensation has engineered more defections as local BJP functionaries are in talks with corporators and leaders hailing from the Mira Bhayandar assembly segment to quit and cross over.
