Pune: Though the Sena is in power in the State in alliance with the BJP, the BJP does not consider it an associate in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). The BJP made its stand clear during the election for the post of PMC Standing Committee chairman, as the lone Sena member in the Standing Committee was absent during voting on Wednesday. 

Speaking to Sakal Times, BJP’s Shrinath Bhimale said, “We are considering the Shiv Sena as the Opposition. They have an independent identity and they have the right to take their own decisions. We had not considered them as allies in the committee elections as we have a majority. We even forgot that there is a Shiv Sena member in the committee.”

Sangeeta Thosar is the only Shiv Sena corporator in the committee. There are 16 members in the committee. Out of them, 10 are from the BJP. During the election, BJP’s Yogesh Mulik defeated NCP’s Laxmi Dhudhane, who got five votes; four from the NCP and one from Congress. 

Meanwhile, Sanjay Bhosale, Shiv Sena Leader in the PMC, said, “There is no substantial reason behind not taking part in the committee election. Our member was on tour to a religious place. It was a scheduled tour and so she did not take part in the committee elections.” 

However, it is claimed that the Shiv Sena was anticipating that the BJP would approach them and request a vote for the BJP candidate. As it did not happen, the Sena was disappointed and decided to not take part in the committee elections. 

Earlier, there was the issue of making the National Anthem mandatory in PMC-run schools. The Shiv Sena gave a proposal to the Standing Committee for approval on the lines of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) decision. After two months, the BJP had not taken a decision on the proposal and the Shiv Sena threatened to launch an agitation. Finally, the BJP agreed to sanction the proposal. But credit went to the Shiv Sena. Notably, playing the National Anthem in BMC schools was the idea of a BJP corporator.