BJP workers clash over changes in candidature

Maharashtra's Water Resources and Medical Education minister, Girish Mahajan was holding a campaign rally at his assembly constituency at Jalgaon's Jamner when party workers and supporters broke into an ugly fight.

Jalgaon (Maharashtra):Acrimony over distribution of party tickets for the ensuing Lok Sabha elections took a violent turn on Wednesday when Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) workers clashed among themselves at a campaign rally in Maharashtra's Jalgaon.

Maharashtra's water resources and medical education minister, Girish Mahajan was holding a campaign rally at his assembly constituency in Jalgaon's Jamner when party workers and supporters broke into an ugly fight.

In a video that went viral on social media, fuming supporters of two different factions of the party could be seen hitting and abusing each other. Girish Mahajan, a high-ranking poltician in Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's camp and a close aide of the CM was also dragged into the fight and could be seen trying to bring the brawl under control.

Anger was, reportedly, brewing since the BJP changed its Lok Sabha candidate for the Jalgaon Lok Sabha seat, replacing MLC Smita Wagh with Chalisgaon legislator Unmesh Patil.

The BJP had earlier announced Wagh’s candidature by dropping its two-time sitting MP, A.T. Nana Patil, sparking disgruntlement among his supporters. Mr. A.T. Patil had defeated his NCP rival by a margin of over 3.5 lakh votes in 2014.

While Ms. Wagh has a strong hold on her constituency, most local BJP (and Sena) leaders harbor deep-seated grudges against her husband, Uday Wagh, who is unpopular due to his alleged abrasive behaviour.

Unmesh Patil was chosen as the replacement to quell factionalism within the party’s Jalgaon unit. He is said to be the choice of BJP minister Girish Mahajan, who calls the shots in Jalgaon district.