Mumbai: Political environment heated in North East Mumbai Constituency. BJP candidate Mihir Kotecha alleged that workers of UBT candidate Sanjay Dina Patil have vandalised Kotecha's election war room in Mulund on Friday. This is not the first incident when Kotecha made allegations against Patil. Last week, Kotecha alleged stone pelting on his road show near Mankhurd before that his election chariot was torn down.
According to UBT party workers, money was being distributed from Kotecha's office therefore they vandalised the office. But Kotecha denied allegations of distribution of money.
Incident reported in Mulund
The incident happened when Kotecha was attending a rally led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Dadar Shivaji Park On Friday. Upon learning about the situation, Kotecha addressed the media, refuting the allegations and condemning the actions of the Shiv Sena UBT party workers.
"Mankhurd Nawab, Sanjay Dina Patil. Yesterday when we were busy to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally at Shivaji park. Your activist Mushtaq Khan and his accomplices attacked my election office and beaten up my workers. Today, I take a pledge after getting elected I will stop all your illegal businesses like drugs, matka, Gutkha in Mankhurd area.I will change Mankhurd area name and keep it as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Nagar." Said Kotecha.
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis condemns attack
After the incident, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and MLC Prasad Lad visited the Kotecha's vandalized war office and took review of the situation.
Fadnavis condemned the attack and highlighted the unacceptable nature of such attacks. “Such types of attacks should be condemned. The other side also attacked our female workers, which is not acceptable. This is not the culture or teachings of Shivaji Maharaj. It is very clear that Shiv Sena UBT has sensed that they are going to lose this election; hence they are using such cheap tactics. We won’t accept this kind of vandalism,” stated Lad.
Mumbai Police DCP Purshottam Karad visited the site of the clash and addressed the media regarding the allegations and subsequent vandalism. He noted that Shiv Sena UBT had claimed money was being distributed by BJP for votes. However, an investigation by the Election Commission found no merit in these allegations. “The situation is under control, and tension in the area has been reduced,” Karad said.
This incident has further intensified the already heated political atmosphere in the Mumbai North East constituency as the Lok Sabha elections coming near. The confrontation between BJP and Shiv Sena UBT reflects the high stakes and fierce competition in this electoral battle.
