Sena, Cong isolate BJP in awarding tender to firm

After remaining undecided for a year, the MBMC finally invited tenders by adopting the Gross Cost Contract model to operate its buses

The BJP and Shiv Sena, both ruling parties in the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC), have been at loggerheads with each other in the recent past.

However, the strain in the ties between the allies escalated in Thursday’s standing committee meeting on the issue of awarding a contract to a private agency to operate, maintain and manage the fleet of public transport buses in the twin-cities.

Questioning the veracity of the single-bid invitation and its negative impact due to the upward pricing structure, the BJP sought time to review the proposal. However, the BJP was left isolated when its junior ally, the Sena, rejected the move and teamed up with the Congress-led Opposition and passed the resolution to give a final nod to the contract.

The improbable scenario could soon become possible in the upcoming polls. Stung by Sena’s defiance, the BJP has threatened to seek the intervention of the state government to annul the resolution. “Awarding the tender to a single bidder in a hurry and that too without presenting proper statistics of the pricining structure, itself smacks of corruption. Such shady transactions will not be allowed. We will move court if the need arises,” said BJP group leader Sharad Patil.

The brazen Opposition by the Shiv Sena is being seen as a reflection of the strained relationship in the saffron combine ahead of the municipal elections, scheduled to be held in the first week of August.

After remaining undecided for over a year, the MBMC had finally invited tenders by adopting the Gross Cost Contract model to operate its bus fleet. However, the bids had to be recalled four times in the past more than 15 months, before an operator was finally selected to run the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission-sponsored city bus service.