Mumbai: With just one month to go for BMC polls, BJP and Shinde Sena met to discuss strategy and seat sharing for the first time. But the third partner, the NCP(AP), was conspicuous by its absence.
Speaking to the media after the meeting on Monday, BJP minister Ashish Shelar explained: Since the NCP’s Mumbai unit was led by alleged money launderer Nawab Malik, currently out on bail, the BJP had decided against allying with the NCP for the BMC polls.
“We held our first meeting today. And as far as NCP is concerned, we are very clear. Since the Mumbai unit is led by Nawab Malik, we have decided against any alliance with them. We have conveyed this to our high command as well as NCP,” said Shelar.
But despite this categorical announcement, the NCP(AP) is treading cautiously.
Speaking to ThePrint, chief spokesperson of the NCP(AP) Anand Paranjpe said the final decision on alliances will be taken by the CM and deputy CMs.
“Nawab Malik has charges against him but none of them are proved. The investigation is going on,” Paranjpe said.
He also alleged double standards. “His daughter Sana Malik is a part of the Mahayuti government as an MLA. That is acceptable to them. Also, when pictures of Sudhakar Badgujar (BJP leader from Nashik) and Salim Kutta (Dawood aide) went viral, they were okay with it. Why different parameters for different people?” Paranjpe asked.
Nawab Malik has been accused in a money laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate. He is also accused of owning properties linked to underworld gangster (who?). He is currently on bail on medical grounds.
But the BJP’s stand comes as no surprise. In 2023, as reported by ThePrint, after joining the Mahayuti government, Fadnavis had written to Ajit Pawar cautioning him against inducting Malik in the alliance.
Moreover, not just BMC, the BJP and NCP(AP) are not allying even for the Pune municipal corporation and Pimpri Chinchwad corporation polls; in fact, there will be a “friendly fight” between the two allies, as reiterated by both CM Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar.
On Monday, Fadnavis said, “Ajit Pawar and we cannot contest the elections together in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad. Both of us understand politics well enough to know that if we contest together, it benefits a third party, and we do not want to allow that to happen. We will contest against each other, but it will be a friendly fight.”
Speaking to the media, Ajit Pawar on Monday said, “If the chief minister has said this, he must have said it after careful consideration. The chief minister is the supreme leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Maharashtra. Whatever the chief minister has said will be final.”
Pimpri Chinchwad was an NCP stronghold for nearly 9 years before the BJP wrested power in 2017. Pune too was a NCP bastion, also snatched by the BJP in 2017, without any support.
So, Fadnavis would want to retain the hold over both corporations single-handedly, while Ajit Pawar will want to reclaim the NCP’s dominance there.
“As far as the NCP is concerned, we will make every possible effort to ensure the NCP’s victory in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad. Regarding alliances with other parties, no decision has been taken yet. A final decision on this will also be made before filing the nominations,” Ajit Pawar added.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
Also read: BMC polls on horizon, Congress extends hand to ‘natural ally’. Pawar to convene meeting next week