BJP: 17 BJP Leaders Imported as Candidates by Allies in Maharashtra Elections | Mumbai News

Mumbai: The BJP is not only the elder brother in the Mahayuti by far, it has also ‘exported’ 17 candidates to the other Mahayuti parties. Twelve BJP functionaries joined the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde and got tickets, four joined the NCP led by Ajit Pawar and got tickets, and one candidate got a ticket from the RPI quota but will fight the polls on the BJP’s lotus symbol.
The BJP is contesting 152 seats but, in reality, if these ‘imports’ into other parties were to be counted, it is contesting 179. Political observers said this was an indication of the clout the BJP had on the seat- sharing arrangement and also reflected that both Sena and NCP couldn’t find good candidates, so they had to make do with BJP imports.
In Mumbai and MMR alone, key BJP functionaries have been accommodated in the Sena and given assembly tickets. Former BJP corporator Murji Patel joined the Sena just before his name was announced as candidate from Andheri (East). In Mumbadevi, BJP’s Shaina NC has been given a Sena ticket. She joined the Sena before her ticket was announced and will now contest against the Congress’s Amin Patel. BJP functionary Santosh Shetty also joined the Sena just days before he was announced as the party’s candidate from Bhiwandi East. He will face SP’s Rais Shaikh there.
Another BJP functionary, Sanjana Jadhav, daughter of former BJP Minister Raosaheb Danve, has been given a ticket from the Kannad assembly segment. She also joined the Sena just before her ticket was announced. Similarly, former BJP neta Nilesh Rane was named by Sena as candidate from Kudal; he is the son of BJP MP Narayan Rane and BJP MLA Nitesh Rane. From Boisar, Sena has named former MLA and BJP functionary Vilas Tare.
The BJP also exported candidates to the NCP. Rajkumar Badole from Arjuni Morgan, Pratap Patil-Chikhlikar from Loha-Kandhar, Nishikant Patil from Walwa-Islampur, and Sanjaykaka Patel from Tasgaon-Kavthemahakal are all BJP netas who joined NCP and got poll tickets.
“17 BJP exports getting tickets shows allies didn’t have enough candidates or BJP didn’t trust their candidates to win. So BJP deputed their own candidates instead,” said a political observer. In case of RPI, the party got one seat in Mumbai. But the party fielded BJP functionary Amarjeet Singh from there on a BJP ticket.