MNS Leader Joins BJP, Attacks Shiv Sena (UBT)

Mumbai: In a major setback to Raj Thackeray, former corporator Santosh Dhuri on Tuesday quit the MNS and joined the BJP. He alleged that the MNS chief has completely surrendered before Uddhav Thackeray, which is hurting the party and its loyalists.

Mumbai BJP chief Ameet Satam welcomed Dhuri into the party. The reports of Dhuri joining the saffron party had gained momentum after he met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday night.

After joining the BJP, Dhuri launched a sharp attack on both Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray. He claimed that the Raj Thackeray ignored its own loyalists and ceded wards to the Shiv Sena (UBT) in the seat-sharing for the Mumbai civic elections. The MNS and Shiv Sena (UBT) have formed an alliance for the January 15 election to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.

“It appears that only 52 seats have been allotted to the MNS in Mumbai, but even among these, there is no guarantee that seven or eight candidates will get elected. The Shiv Sena (UBT) did not give MNS the seats it wanted. Instead, MNS was offered seats where the Sena UBT had no candidates or where the image of sitting corporators was already tarnished,” Dhuri said.

He further claimed that during seat-sharing talks between the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the MNS in Mumbai, it was decided that the two seats would be given to the MNS in each assembly constituency. “We had asked for seats in Marathi-speaking areas like Dadar, Mahim, Worli, Shivdi and Bhandup, but we were overlooked,” he added.

Dhuri was a strong contender for the MNS ticket from ward no 194 in Mahim assembly constituency, but the seat was given to Shiv Sena (UBT) in the seat-sharing.