Mumbai/Nagpur. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Amit Shah and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis worked to defeat Nitin Gadkari in the Lok Sabha elections. Raut’s claim has evoked sharp reactions from the BJP and the Congress candidate from Nagpur. Raut alleged that Fadnavis reluctantly campaigned for Gadkari, who was contesting from the Nagpur Lok Sabha seat, when he realised that he could not defeat him.
Nagpur is the hometown of both BJP leaders. He wrote, “Modi, Shah and Fadnavis worked for Gadkari’s defeat in Nagpur.
He wrote in an article in the party mouthpiece “Saamana”, “Modi, Shah and Fadnavis worked for Gadkari’s defeat in Nagpur. When Fadnavis realised that he cannot be defeated, he reluctantly joined the campaign for Gadkari. RSS people in Nagpur are openly saying that Fadnavis helped the opposition defeat Gadkari.” The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader alleged that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had distributed Rs 25-30 crore in every constituency and his machinery worked to defeat the Ajit Pawar-led NCP candidates. Voting for 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra was held in five phases from April 19 to May 20.
He said, “BJP is not a party but a family. Those who have always done factional politics will never understand family bonds. Modi, Shah, Yogi Adityanath, Gadkari and Fadnavis are part of the BJP family. We always work on the principle of nation first, then party and self last.” Congress candidate from Nagpur seat Vikas Thakre said that Raut had praised Gadkari in the past and claimed in his article that the BJP leader would win the Lok Sabha elections, so Fadnavis reluctantly campaigned for him.
Thackeray said, “How does he (Raut) know that Gadkari ji is winning the elections. Is he an astrologer? When he is a part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), he should keep his love for Gadkari to his home.” He said, “By openly writing in favor of Gadkari, the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader is harming the MVA.” He said, “We have been fighting against the BJP for many years, and we do not need a certificate from Raut ji. He should have understood the situation in Nagpur before writing the article. As a leader of the MVA, he should not make such statements.”
Hitting back at Raut, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said, “Why did it take him so many days to make these allegations? We are all part of the NDA. I am busy with the drain cleaning campaign in Mumbai. Those who grabbed huge amounts of money in the name of road repair work and cleaning should not try to teach us. I know what they (undivided Shiv Sena-controlled BMC) did in the guise of carrying out various works in Mumbai.”