Sena MLA says he got R5- cr offer to join BJP
Says offers were made to 25 Sena MLAs, BJP rejects claim
In a shocking claim, a Shiv Sena MLA from Kannad in Aurangabad, Harshwardhan Jadhav, alleged that senior BJP leader and Maharashtra revenue minister Chandrakant Patil offered him ` 5 crores recently for ditching the Sena and joining the BJP. He said similar offers had been made to 25 Shiv Sena MLAs.
The BJP has rejected the charge, calling it was Mr Jadhav’s usual tactic to be in the limelight. However, this is likely to worsen the already strained Shiv Sena- BJP relationship.
Mr Jadhav said: “PWD minister Chandrakant Patil offered me ` 5 crores to join the BJP. He also said if I join they would also look after my byelection expenditure. But I refused it completely.”
The Shiv Sena MLA also claimed Mr Patil had tried to explain why he was making the offer. “We are frustrated with the Shiv Sena. We want to form a BJP government in the state. For that, the party is looking for MLAs who will join and contest on our ticket,” the Shiv Sena MLA quoted Mr Patil as saying.
The BJP completely rejected the charge.
In a shocking claim, Shiv Sena Member of Legislative Assembly ( MLA) from Kannad in Au ran ga bad, Harshwardhan Jadhav alleged that senior Bharatiya Janata Party’s ( BJP) leader and revenue minister Chandrakant Patil offered him ` 5 crore recently for ditching the Sena and joining the BJP. He said similar offers have been made to 25 Shiv Sena MLAs.
The BJP has rejected the charges, calling it Mr Jadhav’s usual tactic to be in the limelight. However, the latest development is likely to worsen the already strained Shiv Sena- BJP relationship. Mr Jadhav told media, “Public Works Department minister Chandrakant Patil offered me ` 5 crore to join BJP. He also said that if I join the party then they would also look after my expenditure in by- elections. But I refused it completely.”
Mr Jadhav also claimed Mr Patil had tried to explain why he was making the offer. “We are frustrated with Shiv Sena. We want to form BJP’s singlehanded government in the state. For that, the party is looking for such MLAs who would join and contest on our ticket,” Mr Jadhav quoted Mr Patil as saying.
The BJP completely rejected the charges. State BJP’s chief spokesperson Madhav Bhandari called Mr Jadhav’s statement ‘ an attempt to be in the limelight.’ “BJP is the number one party in the state. We do not need to go this way to make our party strong. We will give tickets to our workers and see that they would win. BJP doesn’t want to poach other leaders when we have strong and dedicated workers across the state,” Mr Bhandari said.
Meanwhile, Sena Member of Parliament ( MP) Sanjay Raut sought clarification from the BJP about the allegation. “BJP should clarify why they need to poach others’ MLAs when they claim that the state has a stable government” said Mr Raut.