BJP chides Chintaman Wanaga family for meeting Shiv Sena chief

Mumbai: A day after family members of late BJP MP Chintaman Wanaga from Palghar Lok Sabha constituency held a meeting with Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, the BJP retorted that for 35 years the party had extended complete faith in Wanaga and the family should not hurriedly take any decision.

“One must understand that the Wanaga had been with the BJP for more than 35 years and helped to build the party from scratch. The Wanaga family held on to various posts in these years. If the family has any complaints, then I am sure that our state leadership will address it,” said Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil. “We all belong to an organisation or a party. We should take into consideration what the organisation wants us to do,” he said adding that the BJP is yet to decide on the candidate’s name for Palghar and Bhandara-Gondia by-poll.

On Thursday night, the family of late BJP MP, his wife and two sons, had held a meeting with Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray with reports that three will join the Sena as the state BJP leadership ignored them. Mr. Thackeray had said that he would welcome them in the party. “We are hopeful that both Sena and BJP will contest the polls together. We might fight in open, but during elections we will surely keep the differences aside,” said Mr. Patil.

In another development connected to the Council polls, the Aurangabad bench of Bombay High Court barred six BJP voters from voting in Latur-Beed-Osmanabad. This could be a blow to the Women and Child Welfare Minister Pankaja Munde.

Despite having won the Beed Zilla Parishad polls on NCP symbol, six members chose to vote for the BJP while choosing ZP president. After complaint from the NCP, the collector barred them from voting which was lifted by Ms Munde. The NCP had approached the court against Ms. Munde’s order.

Talking to The Hindu, Advocate S.V. Kanitkar said, “Justice P R Bora set aside the order from the minister and said that it was ‘arbitrary, bad in law and does not follow principles of natural justice’. The lawyer appearing for Ms. Munde sough a stay on the order. A conditional stay was granted by the court which means the member can continue but cannot vote in the council polls.”