Bhujbal cronies cut into NCP vote
The caste-entrenched Nashik local authority constituency has played an important role in the victory of Shiv Sena candidate Narendra Darade who defeated Shivaji Sahane, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) candidate, by a margin of 193 votes. Darade is from the Vanjari community which is an OBC. Parvej Mohammad Yusuf Kokani, an independent candidate supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) too cut into NCP’s votes. According to the Sena, they managed to gain around 200 additional votes from all other parties. However, the Sena leader refused to term it as ‘crossvoting’. On the contrary, a close confidante of Chhagan Bhujbal, former minister of Nationalist Congress Party, agreed that they had voted in favour of the Sena candidate.
The political contest in Nashik was important for the Shiv Sena, the BJP as well for the NCP. In the changed political situation after the Palghar Lok Sabha incident, BJP had extended its support to Kokani. Bhausaheb Chaudhari, Sampark Pramukh of Sena said, "Chief Minister Fadnavis had called all BJP corporators and councillors in Mumbai and instructed them to vote for NCP candidate Shivaji Sahane. Another meeting held in Nashik was called by the local BJP legislator and Member of Parliament and they too had informed party workers that BJP’s target to is defeat the Sena only.” It was the first election after appointment as Sampark Pramukh for Chaudhari as within the next 10 days, the biennial poll was declared. He said that his party candidate received additional votes from all parties including NCP, BJP and Congress.
Jayant Jadhav, a former NCP Member of the Legislative Council and close confidante of Bhujbal, denied any crossvoting for the Sena candidate and said, “Bhujbal supporters voted for the NCP candidate.” In sharp contrast, an NCP leader claimed that maximum NCP members had voted for the Sena candidate. Kokani, who was an independent candidate could not even secure his own vote. He is the leader who brought BJP to power in the Trimbakeshwar municipal council. However, the BJP did not provide him with money and manpower in the MLC poll and hence he transferred all his votes to the Sena, asserted a BJP insider.