Sainiks lock Shiv Sena shakhas after ticket allotment

Mumbai: Angry at the ticket distribution ahead of the civic polls, an unexpected rebellion was seen in the Shiv Sena on Thursday. The revolt even shocked the Sena leadership (Uddhav Thackeray). After the release of its first list of candidates for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, Shiv Sena workers at various wards including Dadar, Wadala, Worli, Mahim protested against the distribution of tickets to candidates who were not locals. Some angry sainiks alleged that the party leadership was ignoring the views of the local cadre while selecting candidates. A group of Sena workers are also miffed with the fact that tickets have been given to youths from the Aaditya Thackeray-led Yuva Sena.

Shiv Sena workers from Wadala protested after a ticket was given to Yuva Sena office bearer and Aaditya Thackeray’s close pal Ameya Ghole from ward 178. The workers locked the shakha office and burnt tyres and shouted slogans. They wanted ticket to a local leader Madhuri Manjrekar. The workers even shouted slogans against Mr Ghole.

A similar protest was held at Dadar shakha ward 200 after the party leadership gave ticket to Urmila Panchal instead of the local leader. The local women workers locked the shakha at Hindmata. Local party worker Puja Kamble said, “Urmila Panchal is relatively new in the party and she came just a few days ago in the Sena. We have been working here for 20 years for the party but the leadership while selecting the candidates did not consider our views. We will meet Uddhav Thackeray and request him to cancel her candidature. Nobody knows her here,” Ms Kamble said.

In Govandi, the workers were miffed for fielding Sena MP Rahul Shewale’s wife against the sitting corporator Dinesh Panchal who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. Congress MLA Sada Sarvankar’s son Samadhan, a Yuva Sena candidate, got a ticket from the Mahim ward. The local workers expressed their displeasure for the ticket given to Samadhan.