Shiv Sena MLA claims BJP minister offered him Rs 5 crores to join BJP

In a revelation that stirred the political fraternity of the state and is likely to dent the relations between the BJP and Shiv Sena further, a Sena legislator has accused the former of offering him Rs 5 crore to quit his party and contest as a BJP nominee.

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Harshvardhan Jadhav, senior Sena MLA from Kannad near Aurangabad, said on Wednesday that not only he, but almost all his party colleagues in the Assembly were made similar offers. What makes the matter more intriguing is that Jadhav is a son-in-law of state BJP president Raosaheb Danve. Talking to mid-day from Aurangabad, Jadhav named Chandrakant Patil, Revenue and PWD minister, and also the number two in Fadnavis Cabinet, as a broker.

"When I met Patil at his bungalow in Mumbai in the last week of October, he offered me R5 crore. He said I should quit and use the BJP fund to contest a bypoll if I wanted good roads in my constituency. Patil assured me that the BJP would try its best to get me re-elected," he said.

Jadhav said he had visited Patil to expedite road works in his constituency. "All work in my constituency is on paper. When I brought this to Patil's notice, he made me the offer which I rejected then and there," said the MLA. "The BJP has made similar offers to almost all my colleagues in Assembly," he added.

Nothing new?
Even as BJP dismissed Jadhav's allegation as baseless and a cover-up for his failure as an MLA, the grapevine says that BJP has been wooing Sena legislators to join forces. At least 25 disgruntled legislators are being targeted in view of 2019 Assembly poll.

Since BJP is short of majority this time, it is running the government in association with Sena which has 63 MLAs. The Sena is acting more like an opposition than a ruling partner, and that's what hurts BJP.

BJP slams Jadhav
Patil chose to not react, but BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari came down heavily on Jadhav. "Jadhav is a failed MLA. He is unable to spend constituency funds on development works. He is making wild and baseless accusations against Chandrakant Patil," said Bhandari.

The spokesperson said if the two were to be compared for credibility, Patil would win hands down. "Who will believe Jadhav? This is nothing but a political drama staged by the Sena MLA," said Bhandari.

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