BJP neta stakes claim to CM Eknath Shinde's Thane

THANE: The dispute between the governing Shiv Sena and BJP over Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra's Thane district continued with BJP MLA Sanjay Kelkar on Sunday staking his party's claim to the whole of Thane and Palghar district and thrashing the Sena's declaration that it would contest the Kalyan and Thane Lok Sabha seats in the future.
The statement, which could widen the local differences between the allies at the state and national level, was made at a BJP conclave with senior BJP leaders and cabinet ministers in attendance in CM Eknath Shinde's city of Thane.
Taking a dig at Shinde and his son, Lok Sabha MP from Kalyan Shrikant Shinde, Kelkar said, "Many from our district, including our allies, have won since 2014 because of the BJP wave. There is no one other than BJP who can get elected here due to our immense groundwork. Not just Thane and Kalyan, but the entire district and Palghar have belonged to us (BJP) since the era of Rambhau Mhalgi and Ram Kapse. I'm surprised when people (Sena) start claiming their authority over seats in Thane. They seem to be nursing a misconception that they are the ones working to re-elect PM Modi but fail to realise that it has been BJP workers who have been taking the (Modi government's) initiatives to the people."
Meanwhile, even as BJP leaders who were present at the event did not clarify or downplay the statement later, political observers said it could be interpreted as the party's tacit support to the approach of reclaiming Thane from the ally.
Sena, on the other hand, was quick to hit back, claiming they didn't pay heed to what Kelkar said. "What is more important is that leaders like CM Shinde and deputy CM Fadnavis are together, and the alliance has also been also cemented by BJP state president Chandrakant Bawankule. Rather than discouraging a youngster, we must look at the good constructive work he is doing," said Sena spokesman Naresh Mhaske, referring to Shinde's son's seat.