In a blow to the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT) supported the BJP in the Chandrapur mayor elections, while the Congress, which had emerged as the single largest party, cried foul alleging horsetrading.
The BJP secured 32 votes and the Congress got 31 votes in the Chandrapur mayor election, while the AIMIM and Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi preferred to remain absent, paving the way for the BJP to get its candidate elected in a close contest. BJP corporator Sangeeta Khandekar got elected as mayor while Shiv Sena (UBT) corporator Prashant Danav was elected as deputy mayor by one vote.
In the Chandrapur municipal corporation election, the Congress emerged as the single largest party with 27 seats in the 66-member council, while the BJP followed with 23 seats. The Shiv Sena (UBT) secured six seats and the Bharatiya Shetkari Kamgar Paksh (Janvikas Sena) won three seats. Two seats went to the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) and one each to the AIMIM, BSP and Shiv Sena, while two independents also won.
The Congress was confident of forming the government with the help of the Shiv Sena (UBT). But local Congress leaders wasted huge time over the selection of the mayor candidate because of infighting between two groups in the party in Chandrapur -- one led by legislative party leader Vijay Wadettiwar and another by Lok Sabha MP Pratibha Dhanorkar. The BJP saw the opportunity and played its cards well, seeking Shiv Sena (UBT) support and defeating the Congress in a close contest for the mayor post.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sunil Prabhu said party leaders would question local functionaries over the decision. He said this decision to support the BJP in Chandrapur was taken at the local level without taking the top leadership into confidence. “We will conduct an inquiry about it. Party leaders will discuss with them why they did so. We will think about how to ensure such incidents do not occur in the future or whether the decision can be reversed," Prabhu said.
Former Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole said what happened in Chandrapur is completely unacceptable.
Maharashtra Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal alleged horse-trading and blamed the Shiv Sena (UBT), AIMIM and Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi for the development. “We expected that six corporators of Shiv Sena (UBT) would support the Congress in the mayor election in Chandrapur, but they preferred the BJP to its MVA ally. It will have an impact on the MVA,” he said.