Opposition alleges poaching by BJP; CM dismisses claim
State BJP spokesperson Keshav Upadhye said such a practice is not part of the party's culture.
Mumbai: As the power struggle in the state intensifies, senior Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar on Friday alleged that the BJP was offering large sums to poach newly-elected MLAs. However, the BJP denied such charges.
Slamming the BJP for dragging state’s politics to the lowest level, Mr Wadettiwar, who is also a Leader of Opposition in the outgoing Assembly, said, “At least '25 to 50 crore are were being offered to MLAs to switch sides in Maharashtra. Congress MLAs, too, have been contacted over the phone with such offers.”
He also claimed that one of the Sena MLAs was also offered '50 crore to switch sides. “We have told our MLAs to record such calls so that people of the state know about them,” he said.
However, the BJP denied the allegations that it was trying to wean away MLAs from other parties.
The Congress held a meeting of all its 44 newly-elected MLAs, which was addressed by State Congress president Balasaheb Thorat and other senior leaders.
Mr Wadettiwar denied reports that Congress MLAs were being shifted to Jaipur. “Some (MLAs) may have gone to rest after the hard work put in elections,” he said.
Shiv Sena MLAs were on Thursday shifted to Rangsharda Hotel in suburban Bandra amid the ongoing uncertainty over government formation.
Meanwhile, the BJP in Maharashtra strongly refuted allegations that it was engaging in horse- trading and offering money to MLAs of other parties to switch sides.
State BJP spokesperson Keshav Upadhye said such a practice is not part of the party's culture.
His assertion came after Mr Vijay Wadettiwar alleged large sums were being offered to MLAs to switch sides in Maharashtra, where the formation of a new government is in a limbo due to fight between the BJP and the Shiv Sena over sharing of power. “There is no question of the BJP going for horse-trading as it is not our culture,” he said.
However, Mr Upadhye termed such allegations as baseless. "It is their frustration that is pushing them to make baseless allegations," the BJP spokesman said.