Maharashtra bypolls: Palghar seat ticket may widen Shiv Sena, BJP rift

With the Shiv Sena planning to field the late Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Chintaman Wanga’s son Shrinivas against its ally, the Lok Sabha bypolls to the Palghar constituency may turn out to be a sign of things to come in the 2019 elections. Going ahead with the nomination would intensify the tussle between the ruling partners.

While the Sena is yet to announce its decision, a senior Sena leader privy to the developments said, “The decision to give the ticket to Wanga’s son was taken on Monday. It will be announced on Tuesday.”

Another Sena leader said Shrinivas is expected to file nomination papers on Tuesday afternoon, in the presence of senior Sena leader and state minister Eknath Shinde. The leader said the party is looking at these bypolls as a way to gauge its strength in the region before the next Assembly and Lok Sabha polls.

Upset with its ally, Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray had in January declared that his party would contest all polls independently. The move indicates Thackeray is not keen on going back on his announcement.

CM Devendra Fadnavis was expecting the Sena to support his party in this battle for prestige as both the seats belonged to the BJP. “If the Sena contests against us, we will answer back in our own way after the Karnataka polls. We can poach their leaders too. They have not announced anything yet. We will wait for their move. We have not finalised any names so far,” said a senior BJP leader.

State’s tribal minister Vishnu Savra is one of the candidates the BJP could zero in on if the Sena goes ahead with Wanga’s nomination.

Until late on Monday night, both Sena and BJP camps were in a huddle over the decision.

In a dramatic move, the Wanga family joined the Sena last Friday, claiming they had been ignored by the BJP after the death of the MP. Even after they joined the party, Thackeray had not spelt out whether the Sena would contest the polls and give a ticket to Wanga. The last day for filing nomination is May 10.

Meanwhile, the NCP is likely to finalise former BJP minister Mahadev Shivankar’s son Vijay as its candidate for the Bhandara-Gondia Lok Sabha seat bypoll. The party has finalised three names — Shivankar, Nana Panchbudhe and Madukar Kukde – as probable contenders for the crucial elections, said a NCP leader.

Shivankar is considered to be a close aide of senior NCP leader Praful Patel.

Senior leaders from both the Congress and NCP will meet on May 9 to finalise a name. Both the parties are contesting the bypolls together, with Congress contesting the Palghar seat and the NCP Bhandra-Gondia seat.

Mahadev Shivankar was a senior BJP leader from Vidarbha region. He was the state finance minister in the Shiv Sena-BJP government from 1995-99 and was also two-term Member of Parliament from Chimur Lok Sabha seat in Chandrapur district.

Kukde is a two-term BJP MLA from Tumsar assembly constituency of Bhandara district. He was defeated in the last assembly polls as an NCP candidate. Panchbudhe is the former NCP MLA from Bhandara assembly constituency.