Mumbai (Maharashtra): Senior BJP leader Kirit Somaiya is displeased with the role and responsibility that was assigned to him ahead of the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly polls.
Somaiya, a former BJP MP, and a prominent face of the saffron party from Mumbai has exposed several corruption cases of opposition leaders.
Somaiya was made the Election Liaison Chief in the election committee headed by former Union Minister Raosaheb Danve. He, however, wrote a letter to Danve, expressing his displeasure. Somaiya said that he would continue to work for the party as a worker and would not take the post. Somaiya also stated that he was treated disrespectfully by the party.
The BJP suffered a huge blow in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra as it managed to win only 9 out of the 48 seats. Political experts believe that Somaiya's displeasure could prove costly for the BJP.
In the 1999 Lok Sabha elections, Somaiya first became an MP from North East Mumbai. After that, he lost twice in a row in the 2004 and 2009 Lok Sabha polls. He won the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
Somaiya had levelled serious allegations against Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and the undivided Shiv Sena in the run-up to the 2017 Mumbai Municipal Elections. This had benefited the BJP in the polls, but Kirit Somaiya drew the wrath of the undivided Shiv Sena.
