Mahayuti fields Muslim candidates to woo voters ahead of January 15 polls

Ahead of the January 15 civic elections in Maharashtrarsquos Jalna city the Mahayuti allies the BJP Shiv Sena and NCP are making a concerted push to court Muslim voters by fielding candidates from the community according to the news agency PTIMarking a shift from its earlier approach the BJP has nominated four Muslim candidates in the city Political observers link this change in strategy partly to the influence of former Congress MLA Kailash Gorantyal who recently joined the BJP and has been actively working to consolidate Muslim supportWhile the Mahayuti partners were initially expected to contest the elections jointly the alliance fell apart at the eleventh hour following disagreements over seatsharing The Jalna Municipal Corporation comprises 65 electoral wardsAs per PTI Muslim voters account for nearly 20 to 25 per cent of the electorate in Jalna and wield decisive influence in wards 2 4 10 and 11Among the other Mahayuti partners Eknath Shindersquos Shiv Sena has fielded seven Muslim candidates while the NCP headed by Ajit Pawar has nominated 17 candidates from the communityOn the other side the opposition Mahavikas Aghadi MVA comprising the Congress Shiv Sena UBT and NCP SP is contesting the elections as an alliance The Congress has fielded 51 candidates including 19 Muslims Shiv Sena UBT despite contesting 13 seats has not allotted any tickets to leaders from the community while the NCP SP has nominated two Muslim candidatesMeanwhile the All India MajliseIttehadul Muslimeen AIMIM has decided to contest 17 seats in Muslimdominated areas of Jalna Its district president Shaikh Majeed said people are looking for an alternative and that AIMIM represents their aspirationsDenied ticket Shiv Sena leader Rajendra Sapte leads protest march in ThaneFormer Thane deputy mayor and Shiv Sena leader Rajendra Sapte took out a protest march after being denied a ticket for the January 15 civic polls in the citySapte who had sought to contest from ward number 25 Kalwa missed out after the seat was allotted to the BJP under the seatsharing arrangement reported news agency PTIThe Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has entered into an alliance with the BJP for the January 15 Thane civic pollsA staunch loyalist of the late Anand Dighe Shindersquos mentor and an immensely popular leader in the undivided Shiv Sena Sapte led a protest march from Kalwa to Dighersquos memorial on ThursdayAccording to the PTI he accused the BJP of taking Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde by surprise and using ldquoblackmailrdquo tactics to secure the Kalwa seat at the eleventh hour Sapte was earlier elected from Kalwa for four consecutive termsThe nomination process for the elections began on December 23 and ended on December 30 While January 2 Friday is the last date for the withdrawal of nominations the final list of candidates will be published on January 3Elections to 29 municipal corporations in the state including the Thane civic body will be held on January 15 and votes will be counted the following dayWith PTI inputs