Latur: A wave of intense resentment has erupted within the Latur city unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the distribution of tickets for the municipal corporation elections. Long-time, loyal party office bearers, workers have openly raised the banner of revolt, alleging that outsiders and turncoat candidates from rival parties were favoured, while those who had built and sustained the party from the days of the Jana Sangh were sidelined.
Party loyalists have asserted, “We are the real BJP,” accusing the leadership of ignoring grassroots workers who toiled for the party for decades. Discontent has sharpened further after several veteran workers with RSS backgrounds were denied tickets, even as candidates who recently joined the party were accommodated.
The anger centres on the allocation of tickets for all 70 seats of the Latur Municipal Corporation, with workers alleging gross injustice to loyalists. The role of the election campaign in-charge and MLA Sambhaji Patil Nilangekar has also come under criticism, with workers expressing the view that those who worked day and night for the party have been unfairly treated.
Against this backdrop, senior workers associated with the Jana Sangh, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and old BJP loyalists gathered at a wedding hall in Latur on Thursday. The meeting unanimously resolved to contest the elections.
“It is we who kept the BJP alive, nurtured it and strengthened it in Latur. If our rights are being trampled upon, we will fight back,” participants declared.
“The BJP lost the Latur Lok Sabha seat and was defeated in the Assembly elections. Are we going to repeat the same mistake in the municipal polls?” they asked.
A large number of BJP workers and office-bearers attended the meeting, reiterating that they have been preparing for the elections for years and are determined to enter the fray.
RSS leader Nitin Shete said, “We will declare our final decision on Jan 5 in a press conference about next what to do. Our meeting held yesterday received good response as there were eight party loyalists registered and more attended the meeting.”
In this municipal election, our favourite party has sidelined loyal and capable grassroots workers and has instead imposed candidates who have come from outside, chosen for convenience, inactive in public life, and in many cases, not even residents of our own wards, he said.
Anger over imported candidatures has intensified further amid allegations that tickets were allotted after collecting hefty sums and to those aligning with a particular power bloc’s strategy. This has landed the civic poll in controversy, with sources indicating that senior leaders moved swiftly to contain the fallout.
More than 40 aspirants are reportedly set to enter the fray, raising slogans of ‘Modi, we are not against you; traitors will not be spared’, and declaring their decision to contest on a single common symbol against imported, favoured and outsider candidates.
The turmoil in the party began with the removal of BJP leader Dr Archana Patil from the post of election chief. Political circles in Latur are abuzz with stories of how certain decisions were taken before the civic polls.
The loyalists’ meet saw the presence of Jitesh Chapsi, Nitin Shete, Madhav Patil Mahalangrikar, Adv Deepak Kulkarni, Kuldeepsingh Thakur, Vaman Rathod and a large number of workers.
