Sena plans to target Tawde, Shelar & others Matoshree blames for split

MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena plans to ensure the defeat of senior BJP leaders, who Matoshree holds responsible for breaking the saffron alliance.
Top on the Sena’s ‘hit’ list are senior BJP leader Vinod Tawde, who is contesting from Borivli, and Ashish Shelar, chief of the Mumbai BJP and the party’s nominee from Bandra (West), sources said on Tuesday. The Sena has similar plans for senior BJP leader Eknath Khadse in his Muktai Nagar constituency in northern Maharashtra, it is learnt.“Both Tawde and Shelar are close aides of (BJP national president) Amit Shah. The duo did everything it could to end the 25-year old saffron alliance. Khadse made matters difficult for us in seat-sharing talks,” said a key Sena functionary.
Matoshree has instructed the Sena’s Borivli and Bandra units to pull out all stops to ensure Tawde and Khadse don’t get a Vidhan Sabha seat.
“It is foolhardy on Matoshree’s part to hold me or Shelar responsible for the dissolution of the partnership. We all feel sorry the ‘bhagwa’ brotherhood has come to an end. But things spiralled out of control as Matoshree began to show a marked interest in the chief minister’s post,” said Tawde.
There are reports the Sena nominated Uttam Prakash Agarwal in Borivli to wean away Gujarati-Marwari voters from the BJP. But Tawde laughed off the ploy. On Tuesday, he walked into Agarwal’s poll office in Kora Kendra in Borivli, taking Sena activists by surprise. “We’ve been friends for 25 years. I went to exchange pleasantries,” he said.
The split has affected personal ties as well. For instance, Anil Parab, Sena ‘vibhag-pramukh’ and Shelar’s close friend, has been asked to plan Shelar’s debacle. Parab plans to close in on wards where Marathi voters can tip the scale. But Shelar said, “They should know I served two terms as corporator from Bandra. I am known and admired because of my work.”