Mumbai: In a late-night political development, all the corporators who had rebelled alongside Sandeep Naik during the assembly elections were officially inducted into the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Mumbai on Tuesday. The induction ceremony took place in the presence of BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule and working president Ravindra Chavan, who welcomed the new members into the party fold.
The entry of these former corporators into the BJP was orchestrated under the leadership of Maharashtra’s Forest Minister Ganesh Naik and former Member of Parliament Sanjeev Naik. However, the decision was met with strong resistance from senior BJP workers, who had earlier protested against their inclusion. The opposition resulted in an initial delay in their induction, but after Ganesh Naik’s intervention, the matter was settled, and the corporators were granted entry late in the evening.
These corporators had previously campaigned for Sandeep Naik against BJP’s official candidate Manda Mhatre in the assembly elections, which had created friction within the party. Several veteran BJP leaders had demanded that they should not be welcomed back. Despite this, the party leadership decided to allow their entry, considering the upcoming municipal elections and the need to strengthen the party’s position.