Mumbai, Nov 27 (PTI) In yet another instance of growing unease among ruling allies in Maharashtra, a BJP MLA on Thursday accused a legislator of partner Shiv Sena of accepting money to shift allegiance from the Uddhav Thackeray camp to Eknath Shinde-led faction when the party split in 2022.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena share power in the state along with Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) as part of the Mahayuti alliance.
BJP MLA Tanaji Mutkule, who represents the Hingoli assembly seat, alleged that Shiv Sena legislator Santosh Bangar from Kalamnuri seat in Hingoli district, had accepted Rs 50 crore to switch loyalty in 2022.
Bangar also hit back at Mutkule, accusing him of indulging in “misdeeds”.
Talking to reporters, Mutkule said Bangar had earlier urged people not to distance themselves from Thackeray but changed his stand overnight.
“There are talks that he accepted Rs 50 crore to shift loyalty. I am sure these talks must be true because he does not take up any work without money,” Mutkule alleged.
Asked why he was making allegations against a legislator belonging to a Mahayuti ally, Mutkule said Bangar was not his colleague and would never be as they belong to different schools of thought.
Bangar also made critical remarks against Mutkule.
The Sena MLA said, “He (Mutkule) faced charges of sexual harassment but made his driver accept those charges and rescued himself. He is a blot on his party because of his misdeeds.” In June 2022, Eknath Shinde led a rebellion with around 40 MLAs against Uddhav Thackeray. During the political crisis, the slogan “50 khoke, ekdum ok” (Rs 50 crore, everything okay) was doing rounds, suggesting that each legislator received Rs 50 crore for switching sides.
Last week, most of the Shiv Sena ministers skipped the weekly cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai to protest the BJP’s alleged poaching of Sena leaders and workers ahead of the local bodies elections in the state. PTI ND NP
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