Mumbai: Even as hectic parleys are underway for who the chief minister would be, Devendra Fadnavis or Eknath Shinde, the BJP is adding Independent MLAs, one at a time, to its basket. In the last two days alone, at least five Independent MLAs have announced their support to the BJP, taking the total party strength to 137.
On Monday, Jana Surajya Shakti Party, which has its base in Kolhapur and neighbouring districts that share a border with Karnataka, announced support with two MLAs – Vinay Kore and Ashok Mane – elected from the Shahuwadi and the Hatkanagale assembly constituencies, respectively. Kore, who helms the WaranaNagar sugar factory and a dairy unit, was an alliance partner of the Congress-NCP government from 2004-14.
From Badnera (Amravati), the BJP has official support from Ravi Rana, a staunch supporter of Devendra Fadnavis. Rana represents the Rashtriaya Yuva Swabhiman party. In his fourth term now, Rana was previously associated with the Congress. In 2019, he offered unconditional support to the BJP after the assembly elections, following which he formed his own party.
Married to actor-turned-politician Navneet Rana, he has been in the news for various agitations in Amravati and his constant tiffs with the other political figures from the district. The couple became known nationally when they announced plans to chant the Hanuman Chalisa near Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray’s residence during the tenure of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.
Thane resident Shivaji Patil, who won from Chandgad (Kolhapur), also submitted a letter of support to Fadnavis on Sunday. A known supporter of Fadnavis, Patil unsuccessfully contested the 2019 assembly poll.
The BJP also has Rashtriya Samaj Paksha (RSP) MLA Ratnakar Gutte’s support. Now in his second term from Gangakhed (Parbh.), he made headlines when a string of comp.es attached to him came under the Enforcement Directorate scrutiny and his properties worth Rs255 crore were attached.
As things stand now, the BJP needs support from eight more MLAs for a simple majority on its own. But it’s not as simple as it seems, considering it has as many as nine elected MLAs from Ajit Pawar’s NCP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
