BJP gives in to Sena demand, fields Manoj Kotak, not Kirit Somaiya

Manoj Kotak with (right) Kirit Somaiya

BJP leader Kirit Somaiya became the party's only sitting member of Parliament from Mumbai, to lose his seat to a colleague, Manoj Kotak. BJP's ally, the Shiv Sena, had raised strong opposition to Somaiya after he had sharply criticised Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray during the 2017 civic elections.

The party has, in its sixteenth list of six candidates released on Wednesday, fielded Manoj Kotak, who has been aggressively taking up local issues and has a strong Gujarati support base. Somaiya said that he was very happy that Kotak has got the ticket. "We will all support him and ensure that he wins. Ultimately our aim is a second term for Modi ji. Responsibilities within the party keep shifting, nothing new in it," he said.

"He is like a younger brother to me. After serving three terms in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) he is well aware of the problems of Mumbai city, and will represent Mumbai in an excellent way in Parliament. The victory of BJP in North East Parliamentary constituency will be one of the biggest in Maharashtra," he added.

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Three-time corporator Manoj Kotak, the BJP's group leader in the BMC, is known as a studious councillor, and has been raising his voice against scams in the BMC. After much strain, with a view to winning the Lok Sabha elections, the Shiv Sena and BJP had patched up in February but the latter was adamant on its stand on Somaiya. Sena leaders had warned the BJP that they will not accept Somaiya in the north east constituency in any case, and if he was fielded, would work against him. In fact, last week Shiv Sena MLA Sunil Raut said that he would contest the Lok Sabha elections himself, if the BJP fielded Somaiya.

Somaiya supporters were upset and said he was being made a victim. "Agreeing that Somaiya should be denied a ticket just because Thackeray does not want him, is like saying that Modi should not be PM because the entire opposition does not want him. Is this right?" a supporter asked.

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