Mumbai. Panchayat and Municipal Elections in Maharashtra are now over. After the elections are over, tension is once again being seen between the parties of Thackeray brothers. Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Sandeep Deshpande on Thursday alleged that Shiv Sena (Ubhatha) councilors in Chandrapur received Rs 1 crore each for supporting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the mayoral elections. However, these allegations have been rejected by the Uddhav group and BJP.
There has been a tussle between Congress and Shiv Sena (Ubatha), part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance, since the BJP candidate was elected mayor of Chandrapur Municipal Corporation with the support of Shiv Sena (Ubatha) councilors, despite Congress emerging as the largest party.
Deshpande, president of the Mumbai unit of Raj Thackeray-led MNS, took on the Uddhav faction. Referring to Sanjay Raut’s criticism of MNS leaders supporting Shiv Sena Shinde faction in Kalyan Dombivali local body, he said that when Shiv Sena (Ubhatha) supports BJP, it is considered right conduct but when MNS does the same, it is considered wrong. “Each Shiv Sena (Ubhatha) councilor in Chandrapur got Rs 1 crore, besides other offers were also made. An independent councilor was given Rs 50 lakh,” Deshpande claimed.
In the civic elections held in Mumbai, Shiv Sena (Ubhatha) and MNS had contested in alliance but they could not stop the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance from gaining control of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. Chandrapur district president of Shiv Sena (Ubhatha) Sandeep Girhe said that if Deshpande presents proof of the allegation of receiving money from councilors, he will resign. He also accused local Congress leaders of insulting the Shiv Sena (Ubhatha) leadership.
Deshpande also targeted Sanjay Raut, asking whether he was kept in the dark or blindfolded during the incident in Chandrapur. Senior BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar said no one was taking Deshpande’s allegations seriously and it reflected the growing distance between Shiv Sena (Ubhatha) and MNS. Meanwhile, Sanjay Raut met MNS chief Raj Thackeray in Mumbai on Thursday. Raut told reporters that Congress was responsible for the developments in Chandrapur and it should have discussed it more seriously with local Shiv Sena (Ubhatha) councillors.