@nag228
Mumbai: The Congress on Monday withdrew its candidate from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) committee elections. In the process, in the election to the post of chairman of the Education Committee, BJP’s candidature was declared invalid. Shiv Sena’s Sandhya Doshi has been appointed as the Chairman of the Education Committee and Shiv Sena corporator Yashwant Jadhav for the third time has been appointed as the Chairman of the Standing Committee.
BJP and Congress along with Shiv Sena had fielded candidates in the committee elections of BMC. However, there was a possibility that BJP would support the Congress candidate in future to defeat Shiv Sena. However, Sangita Handore withdrew her candidature for the Education Committee elections today. Therefore, the contest took place between Doshi of Shiv Sena and Surekha Patil of BJP.
Shiv Sena was voted in by members of Samajwadi Party and NCP. Shiv Sena candidate got 13 votes. So, the vote of 2 members of BJP was invalid. Members of Congress remained neutral.
Bindu Trivedi and Yogita Koli of the BJP voted for their party candidate in a voice vote. However, while sign voting in writing, they signed for the name of the Shiv Sena candidate. Therefore, their vote was rejected. Despite having 9 BJP members, Surekha Patil got 7 votes after losing two votes.
Shiv Sena’s Yashwant Jadhav got 14 votes in the standing committee election. So, BJP’s Adv. Makrand Narvekar got 9 votes. Even in this election, Congress members remained neutral as Asif Zakaria withdrew his nomination. So, Samajwadi Party and NCP voted for Shiv Sena. In both the elections, the presiding officer was Mayor Kishori Pednekar.
“The BJP is politicizing Hindutva along with its radical education policy in the municipal corporation. The Samajwadi Party is with the Shiv Sena in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which is all-encompassing, secular and has at least the same program on the question of the masses. However, if there is a question of Mumbai’s interest, we will also oppose Shiv Sena. Even so, the efforts of the BJP, which has a background of casteism and bigotry, will never succeed. Samajwadi Party group leader Raees Sheikh played such a role after supporting Shiv Sena.
“The Congress should announce what kind of financial compromise had taken place after which the candidate withdrew. Now it is clear who is in the opposition party. Congress is a Shiv Sena-sponsored opposition party. We will continue to fight on the issues of Mumbai”, said BJP group leader, Prabhakar Shinde.
Though Congress is an alliance partner of the MVA government in the state and BMC but Congress has also bagged the important post of the opposition party, this hurts BJP. For the opposition post BJP approached the Bombay High Court last year but the court too gave a decision in Congress’s favour as in 2017, BJP was the second leading party in BMC and due to the alliance between Sena and BJP. BJP decided not to take the opposition’s place and to remain as watchdog because they were in alliance with Sena. But Congress took the opportunity and after taking the legal guidance Congress stood in the Opposition.
Once in alliance BJP forfeited the opportunity and till date they are facing its consequences, because Congress is in Opposition in BMC but is a part of the MVA. Now the Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP are trying to push BJP out of the political power equations in the BMC.
“BJP is faceless in BMC due to their wrong decisions and now they are just making allegations on us. Their own two corporators Bindu Trivedi and Yogita Koli voted in favour of Sena, first they should ask their own corporators to whom they are supporting. In 2017, BJP had a chance to be in Opposition but they chose to be as watchdog as they were in alliance with Sena; they didn’t take the chance and since then they are behind Congress. Till BJP-Sena were together they were not against Sena now what happened to them”, said leader of opposition, Ravi Raja.
