Union Minister Danve rules out replacing Maharashtra BJP chief ahead of local body polls

On Monday, Union Minister Raosaheb Danve quashed rumours about the possibility of Chandrakant Patil being replaced as the president of BJP's Maharashtra unit. Speaking to the media after hosting a dinner for parliamentarians from Maharashtra in the national capital, he ruled out an organizational rejig citing the performance of Patil who assumed charge of the state unit since July 2019. Moreover, he cautioned against reading too much into the visit of former CM Devendra Fadnavis to the national capital. 

The separate meetings of Fadnavis and MLA Ashish Shelar with Union Home Minister Amit Shah last week sparked buzz about a possible reshuffle in Maharashtra BJP. While Chandrakant Patil has denied rumours of a change of guard, the speculation persisted after the ex-CM landed in Delhi on August 8. Since then, Fadnavis has had a slew of engagements including a meeting with Shah, Union Road Transport & Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Besides this, he discussed "organizational matters" during his interaction with BJP MPs from Maharashtra on Monday. 

BJP explores MNS tie-up possibility

In the next one and a half years, over 15 Municipal Corporations including Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane, 29 district councils and more than 90 municipal councils will go to the polls. Rumours were abuzz about BJP appointing a new face at the helm of affairs in this context as these elections might prove to be crucial for the fate of the MVA government. Reportedly, the saffron party is also eyeing an alliance with Raj Thackeray-led MNS.

On August 6, the Maharashtra BJP president called on Raj Thackeray at his 'Krishnakunj' residence in Mumbai. A staunch critic of the Centre in the lead up to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the MNS chief altered its stance after the formation of the MVA government in November 2020. The party's turn towards Hindutva gained momentum after the party discarded its current flag- which has three colours- saffron, green and blue. 

While he publicly defended the Citizenship Amendment Act and the possible implementation of the National Register of Citizens, there was no development vis-à-vis the alliance talks post the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Speaking after the meeting with Raj Thackeray, Patil insisted that there was no proposal for a tie-up. However, he opined that Thackeray does not hate migrants citing a clip of his speech in a gathering of North Indians. Notably, BJP has made it clear that it cannot forge an alliance with MNS until it sheds its hardline stance regarding "outsiders".