Nagpur civic polls: Miffed over ticket denial, some 'long-time' BJP workers to fight as independents

Nagpur, Jan 1 (PTI) Upset over being denied tickets by the BJP despite being its "loyal workers for years", several aspirants have rebelled against the party and are now contesting the upcoming elections to the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) as independent candidates.

They say denial of tickets to long-time workers of the party and choosing the turncoats or outsiders instead has spread discontent among the party cadres and led to their resignations in Nagpur, the home turf of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union minister Nitin Gadkari.

Elections to 29 civic bodies in Maharashtra, including in Nagpur, will be held on January 15.

There are 151 seats in the Nagpur civic body. The BJP is contesting 143 seats along with eight by Shiv Sena. Ajit Pawar's NCP is fighting over 90 seats. While Congress is contesting all 151 seats without any tie-up, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) is in the fray from 79 seats.

Vinayak Dehankar, a long-time BJP worker and husband of former mayor Archana Dehankar, was denied ticket from Ward 17, which prompted him to resign and enter the poll arena as an independent. His wife, however, opposed this decision and said she would campaign only for BJP candidates and not support her husband.

Their difference in opinion even led her to shift to her brother's place temporarily to "avoid disputes".

Speaking to a TV channel, Vinayak Dehankar said he had been working in this ward and constituency since the last many years. Although it was a citadel of Congress, he helped the BJP grow in this ward, he claimed.

"Party's senior leaders had assured me the party would consider my name while finalising the candidate in Ward 17, but that did not happen," he said.

"I would not have minded if some young worker of the party had been fielded by the party. However, tickets were given to rebels...members coming from Congress and also to those from other wards and not to a local. This was very disappointing. Hence, I decided to contest as an independent," he said.

"I resigned from the BJP with a very heavy heart," he said.

According to him, his wife, who is the state office-bearer of the BJP, was annoyed with his decision.

"She said that she cannot support me in elections and went to stay at her brother's place. But, I am contesting on the basis of work that I have done in this ward and I will surely win," he expressed confidence.

Speaking to a news channel, his wife Archana Dehankar said that her husband could not get a ticket from this ward for certain political reasons.

"He should have accepted the party's decision and supported it. Instead, he decided to contest independently. I have urged him to withdraw his nomination," she said.

"In order to avoid any more disputes at home, I decided to go to my brother's house for a few days. This is not a family dispute, but an ideological fight," she said.

Similarly, in Ward 16 (D), around 80 BJP workers along with ward president Gajanan Nishitkar resigned after the latter was denied ticket by the party.

Talking to PTI, Nishitkar said he has been working with the BJP since the last 30 years in various capacities and contributed to the growth of the party.

According to him, he and his supporters have developed family-like relations with local people.

Nishitkar said he was supposed to get a ticket in the 2017 civic polls itself, but the party gave a chance to someone else, and he respected the decision at that time.

"This time also, my name was in the race, but the ticket went to a woman candidate from another ward and not to a local resident," he said, adding that the party workers were enthusiastic that he would contest the elections but it did not happen.

"BJP is in my blood, I got offers from other parties as well, but I declined. However, I along with 80 other aggrieved party workers and office-bearers, have resigned from the party," he said.

Another seasoned local leader of the BJP and a six-time corporator, Sunil Agrawal, is also fighting the upcoming election as an independent candidate after being denied a ticket from Ward 14, which went to a woman candidate.

"My supporters feel that had the seat been reserved for women, it would not have mattered. But since it was unreserved, they feel that I should have been fielded by the party," he said.

Meanwhile, Ninad Dixit, a young entrepreneur and sportsman with strong RSS roots, is in the fray as an independent from Ward 22, located in Mahal area, which also houses the Sangh headquarters.

Dixit, 25, is an accomplished mallakhamb player who won three gold medals at the university level.

When asked why he did not try to contest the election as a BJP candidate, Dixit said that he did not have a primary membership of the BJP.

Besides, the citizens of the area had decided to avoid the mainstream parties and have an alternative.

According to him, people from his locality formed Nagrik Samiti Prabhag 22 and invited applications from young and promising people whom everyone would support.

He said the committee members encouraged him to fight.

"I have been getting a very good response from the people. I hope to win the elections and will be able to serve the people," he said. PTI CLS NP