Thane: Mahesh Gaikwad’s popularity soars post shooting incident

A poster put up in Kalyan East

Despite instructions by Shinde Sena's top leadership to downplay the shocking incident in Ulhasnagar, where BJP MLA Ganpat Gaikwad opened fire at Shiv Sena's Mahesh Gaikwad, supporters of Mahesh Gaikwad are openly supporting him in Ganpat Gaikwad's election constituency of Kalyan East. Large posters supporting the injured Mahesh Gaikwad hailed as the ‘saviour of the poor,' have been displayed throughout Kalyan East, where both Gaikwads have been working.

"Mahesh Ji, known for helping the poor, has gained widespread popularity, leading to banners in his support. If you see, the displayed posters lack any political party affiliation; they are simple expressions of support from those he has helped," a local political functionary said. Mahesh Gaikwad serves as the Shinde Sena's Kalyan East, city chief and is a former corporator of the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC). He is closely associated with the Chief Minister and his son, Dr Shrikant Shinde, who serves as a Member of Parliament for the Kalyan Lok Sabha constituency, encompassing Kalyan (East).

Despite the longstanding political rivalry between the Gaikwads, recent tensions have arisen due to reports of Mahesh preparing for assembly polls in Kalyan (East), where Ganpat Gaikwad, a three-time MLA and BJP member since 2019, is a vocal critic of CM Shinde. On February 3, a dispute over land led to a heated argument at the Hill Line police station in Ulhasnagar. The situation escalated when the MLA opened fire inside a senior police officer's cabin, resulting in two injuries.

"There have been problems since the Shindes ditched the Shiv Sena and joined hands with the BJP. The Shindes come with a lot of baggage from Thane and Kalyan and the BJP will not be able to accept all of it. The upcoming scenario, whether a BJP or Shinde candidate will contest remains uncertain;" a political commentator noted.