MUMBAI: A day after the BJP said it preferred an alliance with Shiv Sena for the forthcoming civic elections only if there is was “respectable” seat-sharing formula, BJP MP Kirit Somaiya announced that his party would fight the civic elections alone. In a jibe at Matoshree, Somaiya said the BJP would put an end to the “den of corruption and mafia rule by one family in the BMC”.
A known Sena-baiter, Somaiya has been campaigning against shoddy road repairs by civic contractors for a long time. He has been targeting Matoshree as well for corruption in the country’s cash-rich municipal corporation. “The BJP will contest the BMC elections on its own strength and win a handsome majority in the city hall on its own steam,” Somiaya told mediapersons on Wednesday.
He said smaller allies (such as Ramdas Athavale’s RPI, the Rashtriya Samaj Party and the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana) would be with the BJP for the polls. While a source in the Mumbai BJP said Somaiya had voiced his “personal opinion” on the BMC polls, many in the party were of the view that the crusty BJP MP had spoken on behalf of countless BJP workers who are bitterly opposed to any alliance with the Sena for the civic elections. Seat-sharing at the municipal level is a major hurdle that may keep the two parties from inking a poll pact for BMC, said experts.