Palghar bypolls: After BJP’s ‘betrayal’ jibe, Shiv Sena hits back

The Sena also slammed the BJP for allegedly pouring in large resources into the bypolls.

TWO days after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis accused the Shiv Sena of betraying the BJP by fielding late BJP MP Chintaman Wanga’s son Srinivas for the Palghar Lok Sabha bypolls, the Shiv Sena on Tuesday hit back at its estranged ally, saying it was the latter that had abandoned the Wanga family after the Parliamentarian’s death. It also accused the BJP of betraying the late MP’s supporters by fielding a former Congressman on a BJP ticket.

In an editorial in Sena’s mouthpiece Saamana, the party said Fadnavis and local BJP and RSS leaders had not bothered to check on the family after Wanga’s death in January this year. “Wanga died in Delhi. His residence was five minutes away from the BJP office and three minutes away from BJP president Amit Shah’s house. But nobody went to pay their respects,” claimed the editorial.

On Sunday, Fadnavis accused the Sena of betrayal in giving Srinivas a ticket despite knowing that the BJP planned to give a ticket to a member of the Wanga family.

The Saamana editorial said Wanga had spent his entire life in the tribal belt of Thane and Palghar to spread the work of the RSS and BJP. “He was loyal to the BJP till death. His loyalty ended after his death, and his family was abandoned. It was then that the Wanga family joined the Sena. If Fadnavis sees this as a betrayal, then a new Marathi dictionary will have to be written,” the editorial said.

The Sena also slammed the BJP for allegedly pouring in large resources into the bypolls.