BJP's 1st list excludes Nitin Gadkari, 'surprised' Uddhav Thackeray takes dig

BJP’s 1st list excludes Nitin Gadkari, ‘surprised’ Uddhav Thackeray takes dig

Taking a dig at the BJP, Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray said he was surprised over the exclusion of Union minister Nitin Gadkari from the party’s first list of 195 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Nitin Gadkari has been representing the Nagpur Lok Sabha seat since 2014.

Uddhav Thackeray recalled his past collaboration with Nitin Gadkari, particularly for his efforts in ensuring the completion of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, a project initiated by Uddhav’s father and Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray, news agency PTI reported.

His remarks came as the BJP was yet to announce its candidates for the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra.

In a veiled jibe at the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uddhav Thackeray said, “The politics of dismantling opposition parties will not endure. ‘jumla’ (fake promises) should be renamed as ‘guarantee’.”

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut slammed the inclusion of BJP leader Kripashankar Singh, who had faced allegations of financial misconduct, saying it exposed the Maharashtra government’s claims of prosecuting leaders.

He said Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis claimed that he had evidence against leaders allegedly involved in corruption and asked if he “swallowed this evidence”.

Kripashankar Singh has been fielded as a BJP candidate from Uttar Pradesh’s Jaunpur for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Responding to remarks made by Uddhav Thackeray and Sanjay Raut, Kripashankar Singh claimed he was discharged from all cases by the court even as he questioned the political credibility of someone (read Uddhav Thackeray) without his own party.

Kripashankar Singh had headed the Mumbai unit of Congress and served as a Minister of State for Home. He parted ways with the Congress in 2019 due to disagreements regarding the party’s stance on the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status by the NDA government. He later joined the BJP in 2021.

“I don’t take remarks of a person who doesn’t have a political party of his own and didn’t attend office at the Mantralaya for even two-and-a-half days during his tenure of two-and-a-half years as Chief Minister, seriously,” he told PTI.