Charging that the ruling Shiv Sena and Congress were indulging in "match fixing" in the BMC polls, Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar on Sunday said the two rival parties have entered into a secret arrangement in as many as 42 out of the 227 wards with the sole objective to defeat his party.
"The only agenda of the Shiv Sena and Congress is to defeat the BJP in the polls. It is with this agenda in mind, the two parties have put up mutually suitable candidates against each other in many of the constituencies.
“In effect, they are indulging in such a match-fixing in as many as 42 wards where the two parties will practically take the BJP on together, Shelar said.
launching his party campaign for the February 21 BMC polls, Shelar said: "We will win all our stronghold seats. In addition, we will also win all such seats where the Sena and Congress are indulging in match-fixing. We will win the polls handsomely on our agenda of transparency in governance".
Shelkar said that the Sena snapped its ties with the BJP as the latter played a key role in throwing all the "corrupt contractors" behind the bars.
Shelar's allegation was in line with the allegation made by Mumbai's senior functionary from the city Kirit Somaiya a few months ago that the BJP, if elected to power, would end he called the "mafia raj" in the Shiv Sena-ruled BMC.