Banner war moves to Nanded

The banner that was put up in Nanded

After Thane, it's Nanded. A huge banner was put up at a busy junction in Nanded, on Friday, criticising Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his MLAs, saying ‘50 khoke, 105 doke' (105 heads for Rs 50 crore). The harsh remark made so far by the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena, has raised eyebrows. The banner goes on to add, ‘Narendra to lead the nation and Devendra to lead the state. The banner mentions that it has been put up by ‘Devendra Fadnavis supporters.'

Nanded MP Pratap Patil Chikhalikar dismissed that the BJP would put up any such poster and called it mischievous, but at the same time, said Fadnavis was the sole contender for the top post in Maharashtra. The police have registered a case against unknown people regarding the banner that appeared in the busy Shivaji Chowk at Nanded. Earlier, a similar banner was put up at Ulhasnagar, but had been immediately removed. "I did not see the banner and it appears mischievous, but Narendra in the country and Devendra in the state is certainly one thing I can vouch for," Chikhalikar told
the media.

Sena annoyed

Local leaders of the Shinde Shiv Sena expressed their anger over the banner. "The BJP and Shinde leadership had publicly announced that the controversy of advertising and banners had been resolved amicably. Then how come these new things crop up?," they said. "Our leadership has asked us to keep calm over the issue," said Umesh Munde, district head of Shiv Sena (Shinde).

BJP district president Pravin Saale said, "I have requested municipal officials to file a police complaint regarding the banner and the police have filed an FIR for a thorough investigation." "We removed the banner as soon as we found it and a complaint has been registered with Shivaji Nagar police station," said an civic official. "The police registered an FIR under the Defacement of Public Property ACT on Saturday. The investigation is on," the official added.

Pawar punch

Opposition leader Ajit Pawar said the BJP has also confirmed the allegation of 50 Khoke (crores of rupees) based on the mention of 50 khoke on the banner.