The BJP, in a bid to keep their own flock together ahead of the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) mayoral polls, has packed their corporators off to a luxury resort in Goa. However, it would appear that their leaders are allegedly trying to poach corporators from other parties at the same time.
The local Congress unit dropped a bombshell, claiming that the BJP was trying to poach their corporators on the behest of former legislator- Narendra Mehta.
In an application to the Naya Nagar police, the city's Congress chief, Ankush Malusare, has informed that BJP leader Dhruv Kishor Patil was making repeated attempts to intimidate and lure their corporator -- Uma Sapaar -- for supporting his party in the mayoral polls scheduled to be held on 26, February.
Upon receiving the complaint, cops called up Patil who said he was out of town.
Refuting the allegations as baseless, Patil released a video clip clarifying that he did call up Sapaar, but only to inquire about her well-being as she had been recently hospitalised.
Notably, despite having 61 out of the 95 corporators, the BJP fears that its members might be poached by a resurgent Shiv Sena-Congress combine which has 22 and 14 members respectively and largely banks upon the tactical support of a warring faction within the BJP to achieve the magic figure of 48.
Adding fuel to the speculation, more than half-a-dozen disgruntled BJP corporators have refrained from joining their party's trip to Goa. However, the fact that a few of their own corporators are said to be hands-in-glove with the rival camp, gives no reason for the Congress-Sena to celebrate, observed political analysts.
“The BJP is frustrated and is using every dirty trick in the book to win the mayoral seats.” alleged Malusare.
