Mumbai: Maharashtra BJP on Friday received a jolt as former legislator Rajan Teli on Friday resigned from the party. He joined the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and is likely to contest the assembly election from Sawantwadi seat against Shiv Sena minister Deepak Kesarkar. According to the sources in BJP, there are many leaders including Raj K Purohit, Gopal Shetty, Ram Kadam, Prakash Mehta, who may revolt in coming days if they do not get BJP’s assembly ticket.
Due to “Mahayuti” — a grand alliance of BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP — many aspirants in the ruling parties will not get a ticket. Mr. Teli wanted to contest from the Sawantwadi Assembly constituency, which is currently represented by Mr. Kesarkar. As the BJP did not get the Sawantwadi seat, Mr. Teli has decided to shift his allegiance from the BJP to Shiv Sena (UBT). The 64-year old leader was in Shiv Sena (undivided) before joining the Congress party, which sent him to the upper house of Legislative Assembly in 2006. In 2014, Mr. Teli left the Congress and unsuccessfully contested Maharashtra Assembly election on BJP’s ticket from the Sawantwadi seat.
After rejoining Shiv Sena (UBR), Mr. Teli told this newspaper that he would certainly defeat Deepak Kesarkar, who had only made empty promises in the last ten to 15 years, provided the party gives him a ticket. “There is a huge resentment amongst the people against Mr Kesarkar,” he said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said that as Mr. Teli rejoined the party, many party workers and leaders would rejoin the Shiv Sena (UBT) soon. “The political situation in the state has completely changed. Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will form the government after the election as it has been decided by the people,” he said.
The Konkan region of the state, which was considered once the bastion of Shiv Sena (undivided), has 75 seats, including 36 seats in Mumbai, out of Maharashtra’s 288 assembly seats.
In his two-page letter to the BJP state chief, Mr. Teli expressed dissatisfaction with the way the party is functioning. He also claimed that he faced difficulties after incumbent Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg MP Narayan Rane had joined the party along with his sons.
Meanwhile, a delegation of Sakal Rajsthani Pravasi Samaj has demanded a ticket from Maharashtra BJP for its candidate and former cabinet minister Raj K Purohit from Colaba or Mumbadevi constituency. The delegation along with Mr Purohit met BJP secretary (organisation) Ravi Anaspure with their demands. Mr. Purohit told this newspaper that he wanted to contest the assembly election from the Colaba seat, where current assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar is the sitting MLA. “I have communicated my wish to the party leader,” he said.
An insider in the BJP said that leaders like Ram Kadam, Prakash Mehta, Gopal Shetty have been preparing to contest the Assembly election from Ghatkopar (west), Ghatkopar (east) and Borivali respectively. “Ram Kadam has been working on “Plan B” to switch the loyalty from BJP to Shiv Sena (UBT), if the party denies him a ticket from Ghatkopar (west),” the insider said.