The candidature of MP Kirit Somaiya may have proved to be a sore point for the alliance of Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, but the BJP MP has started campaigning from the Mumbai North East constituency, which he represents in the Parliament.

In the coming week, the veteran BJP leader is expected to interact with citizens on the Mumbai local trains, starting from Kanjurmarg on Friday.

Somaiya’s team is also out with booklets, talking about his work in the constituency in the past five years. The team has also made a list of public interactions like job fairs and aid campaigns that Somaiya had organised in the past 12 months alone. The list also entails the number of beneficiaries. These will soon be distributed in the constituency, a member of his team said.

A BJP member from the area also said, “There is no question about him not getting a ticket. In fact, we have started campaigning since the past few weeks. There will be aggressive campaigning post April 2 once the nominations are filed.”

A chartered accountant and a two-time MP, Somaiya’s candidature is being objected by local Shiv Sena workers. Before the 2017 civic elections, Somaiya was a major critic of the Sena, attacking the party over issues of corruption in the Sena-led Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

Somaiya also made a direct attack at Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray saying that the BMC was in the grip of a powerful mafia run by a ‘saheb’ in Bandra.

Sena leader Anil Parab said differences among party workers will be sorted out. “It is true that there are differences because of what was said in the past five years, but ultimately the party (Sena) has taken a decision (of an alliance with the BJP). In the coming days, there will be meetings held constituency-wise and all issues will be addressed by the party then.”

First Published: Mar 14, 2019 09:56 IST