Fadnavis helped clinch Sena-UBT deal by giving 15-month mayor term: Mungantiwar

Nagpur: BJP veteran and Ballarpur MLA Sudhir Mungantiwar on Wednesday said the knife-edge victory in Chandrapur's mayor polls was possible because chief minister Devendra Fadnavis agreed to sweeten the power-sharing formula with Sena (UBT) by offering a longer mayoral tenure. It was due to UBT's six corporators and last-minute abstentions by few corporators that helped BJP bag the mayor's seat by one vote — a feat which earned Mungantiwar the nickname of ‘kingmaker'. Speaking to reporters in Nagpur on Wednesday, Mungantiwar accepted there were two rival BJP factions in his home district, the other headed by Chandrapur MLA Kishor Jorgewar. He demanded an internal probe into breach of discipline in run-up to civic body polls.
When asked if Fadnavis directly spoke to Uddhav Thackeray to cement the deal, Mungantiwar said he had no information about any such meeting. Sharing details on how BJP was able to win over Sena-UBT, Mungantiwar said, "I personally spoke four times a day with Upendra Kothekar (BJP's Vidarbha head) and held discussions with Bawankule saheb. We took the CM's approval when discussions began on giving one year to the other side. When I informed the CM about the unfolding situation, he told me that instead of a year, if necessary, give 15 months — but the mayor in the first round must be from BJP." However, he said a tie-up with Sena-UBT should not be interpreted as changing dynamics at state level. "The Chandrapur template has nothing to do with Maharashtra politics, and Maharashtra politics has nothing to do with Chandrapur," he said.The former minister also rejected allegations that BJP grabbed the mayor's post through manipulation. "Both sides were short of the magic figure of 34, but opportunity favours those who seize it," said Mungantiwar.And while he was working to hammer out a deal with Sena-UBT, internal rivalry with Jorgewar's camp cropped up on who would be the group leader. At this juncture, nobody had an inkling that securing the mayor's post could be possible as UBT had not made any commitment. Mungantiwar said "Jorgewar saheb insisted their candidate must be the group leader. I told my seniors to give them (Jorgewar) the group leader post, but the mayor's post should come to us. Then, nobody believed we would bag the mayor's post."Mungantiwar, however, minced no words in taking on his rival Jorgewar. He said the party is already probing how more than one AB form was distributed in the same ‘prabhag'. "Also, how another name for the mayor's post was pushed, though official approval had come for Sangeeta Khandekar? If someone justifies it by saying this was done as a back-up, then the same rule should apply in the deputy mayor case," said Mungantiwar.He downplayed the trend of people terming him kingmaker and brushed aside questions on whether Jorgewar's faction is taking credit for this victory. "This is not about being ‘chanakya' or kingmaker. Workers are happy after winning a difficult battle," he said.