Scantily clad women adorn BJP leader’s Diwali poster

When it comes to bagging votes, it seems some politicians are willing to go the extra mile, even if it means putting up banners featuring skimpily clad women.

A poll aspirant of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from Worli created quite a stir in the city’s political circles after he put up a ‘Diwali Mahotsav’ banner, featuring scantily dressed women at Jijamata Nagar, Worli. Not missing an opportunity to shame the leader, all parties slammed the “shameless” programme.

The organiser of the event, Aniruddh Sawant — vice-president of Worli MLA constituency — claims he was merely organising an ‘orchestra’ programme, the likes of which are often held during elections in north India.

Since Thursday, pictures of the banner, which was signed by Mr Sawant, had been doing the rounds on social media. What has miffed politicians within and outside the saffron party is that the event is made to appear as a Diwali celebration.

When contacted, Mr Sawant said, "The programme was an orchestra. I've pulled all the banners down. It was an event for senior citizens and young kids. There has been no controversy and, hence, I would suggest not to escalate the matter further."

Party sources claimed that the programme wasn't held under the banner of the BJP. Even as Mr Sawant claimed that locals from his areas enjoyed the programme, where "devotional songs" were played apart from Kishore Kumar and Mohammed Rafi classics, he didn't delve into why he had used the women's pictures on the banner.

The BJP has claims that the party reprimanded Mr Sawant and asked him to take down the banner. Niranjan Shetty, chief spokesperson, Mumbai BJP, claimed the party realised on Friday that such banners have been put up in Worli. "The person responsible was reprimanded immediately and we asked him to take down the banners," said Mr Shetty.

According to Mr Shetty, Mr Sawant had joined the party recently from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) via the 'missed call movement' started by the BJP. "He isn't aware about the party's culture and hence such banners came up. He has been told not to repeat such behaviour again," said Mr Shetty. Meanwhile, a party leader from Worli claimed that Mr Sawant aspires to contest the BMC polls from a Worli ward and he had organised the event to gain prominence. "I hope he realises the gravity of the situation and doesn't embarrass the party any further," said the local leader.