Juhu citizen groups deny naming BJP's election candidate

Mumbai: Citizen groups working in Juhu have said that they haven’t been informed about the appointment of any citizen candidate to contest from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), ticket for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections. BJP MLA Ameet Satam, on the contrary, had claimed that citizen groups had submitted him a letter with the name of Renu H as their candidate for BMC polls from Ward 69 (Juhu). When The Asian Age contacted several Advance Locality Managements (ALM), and even the citizen corporator Adolf D’souza, they claimed that they had no knowledge of any candidate’s appointment by the above mentioned name. D’souza called it a sham work of the BJP.

Juhu, a celebrity hub, is also famous for its activists and ALMs. It was the first place that came up with a citizen candidate Adolf D’souza for the 2007 BMC elections, who stood a victor in the same.

“Why will a citizen group appoint a candidate for a political party? This looks like a sham created for the political benefit of the party, as citizen candidate gains voters’ trust. I, as a citizen candidate didn’t hear of any such appointments in the area,” said D’souza.

Shirley Singh and Jayshree Gosavi, of Juhu Scheme Residents’ Associations, claimed that neither were they invited for nor aware of any such selection.

However, Ameet Satam, who according to sources informed party leaders that a citizen candidate was appointed by the citizen group, claimed that other ALMs are denying out of jealousy. “Four citizen group activists signed the letter and handed it over to me, it is a matter of pride for any party if citizens give a candidate, as it is completely democratic,” said Mr Satam.

When informed that fourth person who signed the letter is a BJP member, Mr Satam agreed but claimed that the party worker was more active in the citizen group.