Pune: The rift between Mahayuti partners seems to be growing over the MLC polls for the Pune seat of the teachers’ constituency though chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday scotched speculation that Shiv Sena would support the rebel candidate contesting against the BJP’s nominee.After reviewing BJP’s preparations for the MLC elections, Fadnavis told reporters, “I am confident that Mahayuti candidates will win in all the MLC seats. As far as the Pune seats are concerned, Shiv Sena and NCP functionaries as well as workers will wholeheartedly work for both the BJP candidates.”BJP has fielded Kaustubh Gawade as the party’s official candidate for the Pune seat of the teachers’ constituency. The party’s state president, Ravindra Chavan, recently announced he was the candidate of Mahayuti.Deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday held a closed-door meeting with some Sena MPs, MLAs and other party functionaries in Mumbai. Most of them firmly took a stand that instead of supporting the BJP candidate, the party should work for the rebel candidate, Sachin Sanap. The latter worked as the OSD (officer on special duty) of cabinet minister Uday Samant from Sena.“The Pune seat should have gone to our party but BJP announced its candidate without any consultation within the alliance. In the meeting held by our party chief Shinde, all members took a stand that we should work to grow our party and so we should support Sanap’s candidature,” a senior Shiv Sena member said.Cabinet minister Shambhuraj Desai said, “We discussed about growing the party’s base in the state in the meeting. We are in Mahayuti and will continue to work in coordination with our allies. At the same time, it is our right to grow our own party.”Both BJP and Shiv Sena were eager to contest the graduate and teachers’ constituency seats of Pune division. Till the last day of withdrawal of nominations for the MLC polls, the Mahayuti partners failed to come to a consensus on the candidates of the alliance. BJP went ahead and announced Gawade’s nomination for the teachers’ constituency seat and Smita Jadhav’s candidature for the graduate constituency of Pune.Shinde-led Sena’s Sanap filed his nomination for the teachers’ constituency. Another party member, Mangesh Chivate, filed his nomination for the graduate constituency. Chivate, who was an OSD of Shinde, withdrew his nomination on the final day of withdrawal, but Sanap remained in the fray as an Independent candidate.Last year, a similar tussle was seen between the Mahayuti partners over the Nashik MLC seat. BJP rebel Gokul Gite contested against Shiv Sena’s official candidate Narendra Darade and defeated him.
