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In a bold move, Shiv Sena has struck back against BJP's attempts to siphon off their members by welcoming former BJP figure Laxman Ambokar and his followers in Kalyan.
Kalyan: The claws are out within Mahayuti in Thane district. Less than a week after former Ambernath corporator and Shiv Sena functionary Surendra Yadav, who had joined the party just months ago, switched over to BJP, Sena inducted former BJP leader Laxman Ambokar and many of his supporters in Kalyan on Sunday in the presence of party chief and deputy CM Eknath Shinde.Political observers dubbed it Sena's "tit-for-tat" response to BJP poaching Yadav. Sena has dominated Ambernath Municipal Council for years, but in recent times, BJP has been steadily expanding its base in the region. Following the induction, Shinde held a closed-door meeting in Kalyan with all former corporators from the party and key office bearers from Kalyan-Dombivli to discuss the civic polls. According to sources, many former corporators alleged that BJP leaders were working in their wards and openly claiming that the next mayor would be from their party.
According to sources, Shinde said if BJP offers seats proportionate to strength, the alliance will continue for the Kalyan-Dombivli municipal elections.
"But if not," Shinde reportedly said, "Shiv Sena is ready to contest alone-and everyone should be prepared accordingly." Later, Shinde expressed confidence in Mahayuti's prospects. "Kalyan-Dombivli has always been a stronghold of Mahayuti and it will remain so.
People have seen our work and will stand with us again," he told reporters. Yadav had tagged along with senior Congress leader Pradeep Patil when he left the party for Sena a few months ago. In a short time, he became a close associate of Sena MLA Balaji Kinikar so much so that when Patil recently returned to Congress, Yadav chose to remain with Kinikar and Sena. But, in a surprising turn of events, he joined BJP last week in the presence of state party chief Ravindra Chavan. The move sparked outrage in Sena, which accused BJP of breaching coalition discipline. "It was agreed that neither party would poach each other's members. Despite this, BJP has taken someone who was with us," Kinikar said. He hinted that many more BJP workers are in touch with him. BJP's Kalyan district secretary Abhijeet Karanjule claimed Yadav was never officially a Sena member. "After Patil rejoined Congress, Yadav distanced himself from Sena before joining BJP."
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