BJP was forced to choose Marathi mayor for Mumbai: Raut

Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday claimed the Bharatiya Janata Party was forced to choose a Marathi mayor for Mumbai due to the overwhelming support of Marathi people to his party and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation polls.

Speaking to reporters, Raut also took a dig at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh after actor Salman Khan was seen interacting with its chief Mohan Bhagwat in Mumbai on Saturday at an event to mark the RSS's centenary. 

"Was it a welcome for Bollywood star Salman Khan or (a message that) Muslims are also welcome in the Sangh and its shakhas?" the Rajya Sabha member asked.

Bhagwat should have clarified about it because of the way Hindu-Muslim hatred and vindictive propaganda is being spread and the Sangh is also part of it, he charged.

On the BJP fielding Ritu Tawde (53) for the Mumbai mayor's post, Raut said she is originally from the Congress. The BJP does not have anything original of its own, he claimed.

"The way Marathi people overwhelmingly voted for the Shiv Sena-UBT and MNS, the BJP had to make a Marathi mayor in Mumbai," he stated.

Tawde is all set to become Mumbai's mayor and the party's first in four decades after Sena-UBT decided against fielding a challenger, making the contest unopposed and ending the Thackeray family's 25-year dominance over the richest civic body.

The Mumbai mayoral election is scheduled for February 11, which is the last day to withdraw the nominations.

The Sena-UBT had raised the emotive 'Marathi identity' plank in last month's Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections, where the party had allied with the MNS.

The BJP emerged as the single largest party in the 227-member BMC by bagging 89 seats, while its ally Shiv Sena won 29 seats.

In the Opposition camp, the Sena-UBT secured 65 seats, while its allies, the MNS and the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar won six and one seat, respectively.   -- PTI