Twenty-two BJP candidates in the recently concluded Amravati Municipal Corporation polls have written to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, demanding the expulsion of former MP Navneet Rana for allegedly campaigning against the party.
Of the 22 complainants, two emerged victorious, while 20 lost in the civic polls held on January 15.
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The candidates claimed that former Amravati Lok Sabha MP Navneet Rana had aggressively referred to BJP nominees as “dummies” and promoted contestants of her husband Ravi Rana’s Yuva Swabhiman Party as the “real BJP candidates.”
Ahead of the civic polls, the BJP had broken its alliance with MLA Ravi Rana’s Yuva Swabhiman Party. A local BJP leader, however, had stated that Navneet Rana would continue campaigning for the saffron party candidates.
In the 87-member Amravati Municipal Corporation, the BJP secured 25 seats, while Yuva Swabhiman Party and Congress won 15 each, AIMIM 12, NCP 11, Shiv Sena and BSP 3 each, Shiv Sena (UBT) 2, and Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi 1 seat.
In the previous election, the BJP had captured 45 seats, while the Yuva Swabhiman Party won 3.
Aggrieved by the defeat, both the losing candidates and the two winners wrote to CM Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday, alleging that their loss was not due to the opposition but because of Navneet Rana’s actions.
“We are devoted and hardworking party workers, connected with society. But our defeat in this election is not due to the Opposition, but because senior BJP leader Navneet Rana openly campaigned against the party,” they said.
