In a development that may not augur well for the ruling BJP in Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena has made it up its mind to put up late BJP MP Chintaman Vanaga’s son Shrinivas as its candidate for the Palghar lok Sabha in the by-polls scheduled for May 28.
A day after late BJP MP Vanaga’s wife Jayashree and her two sons Srinivas and Prafulla severed their links with the BJP and joined the Shiv Sena, the signals that emerged from Thackerays’ Bandra residence Matoshri on Friday indicated that the Sena would go whole hog to capture the tribal-dominated Palghar lok Sabha seat with Shrinivas Vanaga as its candidate.
The Palghar by-poll has been necessitated by the death of BJP MP Chintaman Vanaga ( 67) who had suffered a massive heart attack at his official residence in New Delhi on the morning of January 30 and was later declared dead at the RMl Hospital in the national capital. Vanaga was attending the budget session of Parliament at that time.
On Thursday, the BJP suffered a jolt when Shrinivas -- who is carrying the legacy of veteran Adivasi leader from coastal Konkan region Chintaman Vanaga – sent off his resignation letter to the State BJP leadership and joined the Shiv Sena in the presence of Uddhav Thackeray at the latter’s residence “Matoshri”. Shrinivas’ mother Jayashree and his brother Prafulla had accompanied him for a meeting with Uddhav.
The reason behind Shrinivas’ decision to join the Shiv Sena was that not even a single BJP leader had bothered to visit his family members after the death of his father more than three months ago.
“My father built up BJP and its cadres in Palghar from a scratch and he served the party for more than three and a half decades. Unfortunately, no one from the BJP has bothered to visit us even three months after his death. ... If my family members and I have chosen to join the Shiv Sena, it is because my father despite being in the Sena had enjoyed cordial relations with late Balasaheb Thackeray and I am confident that the current Sena president Uddhav Thackeray will do us justice,” Shrinivas said, while addressing a news conference along with his family members.
Vanaga was the “tribal face” of the BJP in the undivided Thane district, of which Palghar tehsil was part till July 31, 2014. The predominantly tribal district of Palghar came into being on August 1, 2014, after the Maharashtra government carved out Palghar and seven other tehsils out of Thane district and set up a new district.
Vanaga was first elected to lok Sabha in 1996, then 1999 and again in 2014. Before that he was the sitting MlA from Vikramgad since 2009.
In a first office reaction to Vanaga family members’ decision to join the Shiv Sena ahead of the May 28 lok Sabha by-polls, senior BJP minister Chandrakant Patil on Friday described the development as
“premature” considering that his party had been considering giving the party ticket to one of the Vanaga family members to contest the May 28 Palghar lok Sabha by-polls. “
Disagreeing with the views expressed by Vanaga family members, Patil said: “late Vanga had represented the seat both in Maharashtra legislature and parliament since over three decades. Our party leadership was planning to take a decision on the choice of a candidate for the Palghar by-polls in the next few days”.
Notwithstanding the contention by Patil, informed sources said that the BJP had more or less decided to its Tribal minister Vishnu Savra as it candidate against Shiv Sena’s Shrinivas Vanaga.
On its part, the Opposition Congress may put up either Sachin Damodar Shingada, son of former Congress MP, or former state minister Rajendra Gavit as its candidate for the May 28 lok Sabha by-polls.