Yogi, Uddhav lock horns as race hots up
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) brought in Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath to campaign in Palghar, while Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray addressed campaign rallies for his party ahead of the Lok Sabha by-election in the constituency on May 28.
The by-election in Palghar, necessitated by the death of BJP’s sitting MP Chintaman Wanga, has become another flashpoint between the ruling allies, as the Sena chose to contest the polls on its own, and even fielded Wanga’s son Shrinivas as its candidate.
On Wednesday, Adityanath alleged the Sena had backstabbed the BJP, while Thackeray said the UP CM could not win elections in his backyard and had come to campaign in Maharashtra. The BJP fielded Congress turncoat Rajendra Gavit, and is pulling out all stops to avoid another Uttar Pradesh-like defeat in Lok Sabha bypolls there.
The BJP got Adityanath to address a campaign rally in Virar in a bid to woo north Indian voters, especially migrants from UP.
Launching a frontal attack on the Sena, Adityanath alleged the party had betrayed and backstabbed them by fielding Srinivas. “Some people, in the name of Shivaji Maharaj, work for Afzal Khan,” Adityanath said, hitting out at the Sena which considers the Maratha king its biggest icon.
“Today, the soul of the late Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray must be really sad looking at the backstabbing by the party he formed. Balasaheb never backstabbed anyone. He always led from the front against anti-national forces. But, today, the Sena is weakening his customs and traditions,” Adityanath said.
The Shiv Sena chief, who started his three-day campaign tour of Palghar, hit back by targeting the UP CM during a rally at Nalasopara. “The BJP had to call outsiders to campaign and they have got Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath. He could not get candidates elected from his own constituency and he is campaigning here,” Thackeray said.
He accused Adityanath of having blood on his hands, referring to the deaths of 30 children at a hospital where there was a lack of oxygen supply.
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