Mahayuti parties battling each other during poaching spree
Mumbai: The three Mahayuti parties, which are on a poaching spree from opposition parties ahead of local body polls across Maharashtra later this year, are in some cases battling with each other for local leaders in various districts. Leaders from the ruling alliance believe that the competition will only increase as the polls near. Mumbai, India – 18, June 2025: Former Chief Minister Vasantdada Patil Granddaughter-in Law, Jayashri Patil join BJP in the presence of Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, and BJP Maharashtra State president Chandrakant Bawankule, BJP minister Chandrakant Patil, at BJP office, Nariman point, in Mumbai, India, on Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo)
For instance, Jayashree Patil, the granddaughter-in-law of former chief minister and the late Congress leader Vasantdada Patil, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) last week. A day earlier, the Shiv Sena (UBT) Nashik city chief, Sudhakar Badgujar, joined the party in the presence of senior BJP leaders in Mumbai. Both leaders, who are believed to have strongholds in their respective districts, were willing to join Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, but it was the BJP that managed to woo them, according to leaders aware of the developments.
These aren't one-off cases. Badgujar's close aide and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader from Nashik, Vilas Shinde, is expected to join Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena soon. Vilas Shinde was willing to switch to the BJP, along with Badgujar, but Eknath Shinde succeeded in convincing him—and at least eight other former corporators—to join his party.
Earlier this week, the Shinde-led Sena inducted 22 former corporators from various parties, including the NCP and BJP, apart from the opposition Congress in Kolhapur. The BJP's local leadership in Kolhapur is said to be unhappy over the poaching, said a party insider.
In April, four former MLAs, along with former corporators and key office bearers from various parties, joined the Ajit Pawar-led NCP. Many of them, including former MLA Vilasrao Jagtap, were in the BJP earlier.
Insiders from the Mahayuti parties admitted that this poaching leads to a tussle and uneasiness between local leaders and party workers. 'It will grow further during the local body polls,' said a BJP leader, requesting anonymity. 'This, however, is expected by the workers, as we are used to such turmoil in politics because of the splits in the Shiv Sena and NCP in 2022 and 2023. Local workers and leaders from the BJP and NCP or Shiv Sena and NCP have been fighting against each other for years, but it was not the case between the Shiv Sena and the BJP. Most of these leaders and former corporators are joining parties convenient to them to get the candidature in the local body polls.'
A Shiv Sena leader added that the Mahayuti parties are trying to one-up each other while making political offers to leaders they want to poach. 'Like in the case of Jayashree Patil, she is believed to have gotten a better political offer, including nomination to the legislative council and relaxation in legal action against a local bank under her. Though she was ready to join the NCP, the BJP lured her with a better offer,' the leader said.
Political analyst Hemant Desai said that the tussle between the Mahayuti parties will only increase further in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region as the polls near. 'Shinde has already poached most of the Shiv Sena (UBT) corporators, and could demand more seats on that basis from the BJP. Similarly, the two parties are at loggerheads in Thane for political clout. This will happen between the Mahayuti parties in the districts where they are fighting for political power against each other,' he added.
According to Shiv Sena leaders, corruption cases emerging against their leaders like Sanjay Shirsat and Sandipanrao Bhumre are part of the tussle between the two ruling parties. 'The cases could be used by other ruling parties to keep these leaders, who are a strong voice in their respective districts, in check during the local body polls,' said a Shiv Sena leader from Marathwada, requesting anonymity.
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