Palghar: The feud between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena is like that of a husband and wife, said the Sena candidate from Palghar, Shrinivas Vanaga.
“For some reason the wife who has left the husband’s house in anger returns and live like a married couple,” said Vanaga. The feud between the Sena and the BJP in Palghar is exactly like this, said Vanaga, who had lost the parliamentary bypoll held in May 2018.
The sudden demise of Chintaman Vanaga, Shrinivas’s father, who passed away following a heart attack in January 2018, had necessitated the bypoll. “The two parties are running to me to resolve their deadlock. I have to mediate between them,” said Vanaga, causing the audience to burst into laughter.
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He was speaking at a rally in Talasari. Uddhav Thackeray would always tell Vanaga he was saving the seat for him. “But I appealed to him to let me first learn the ropes of politics and gain some experience. I have personally gone up to the party chief and informed him, I did not want to take such a giant leap, contesting the Lok Sabha elections,” said Vanga.
After his father, Chintaman died, the Sena chief had given Shrinivas the ticket, but he lost. The BJP had fielded Rajendra Gavit, who won. Furthermore, when the LS elections were announced, initially the Sena had announced Shrinivas’s candidature but Gavit quit the BJP to join the Sena and he was finally given the ticket.
Now the Sena has asked Shrinivas to prepare for the Assembly polls. “(I would like to be ) Just like my father who did not amass wealth and property as an MLA or MP and instead, amassed the wealth of your love and affection… it is because of my father I am getting such affection in every nook and corner, which is a huge opportunity for me,” said Shrinivas. Shrinivas claims, “I will now do any work Uddhavji gives me. I will search for my identity. I have not backed out. I am going to be an MLA and then an MP, but I am in no rush.”