Mumbai, Aug 18: Apparently needling the Shiv Sena, the Bharatiya Janata Party will hold its ‘dahi-handi’ celebrations at the Jambori Maidan in Worli on Friday, which is a Sena stronghold and also the Assembly constituency of the Yuva Sena chief, Aditya Thackeray.
Driven out of Jambori Maidan this year, now the Sena plans to hold its revelries at Worli Naka — with an undeclared competition on who will make it a bigger affair — likely to be witnessed on Friday.
Former Nationalist Congress Party leader Sachin Ahir, who joined the Shiv Sena in 2019, used to regularly organise the dahi-handi at Jambori Maidan, which was ranked among the biggest events during the festival in Mumbai.
Mumbai BJP President Ashish Shelar on Thursday took a swipe at the Sena, saying “despite having an MP, MLA, ex-Minister, ex-Mayor and several municipal corporators, the party is struggling to get ‘loyalty affidavits’ on Rs 100 stamp-paper”.
“They got elected on our strength and then claimed it as their ‘bastion’. The pyramid of those who betrayed the ‘saffron’ has started crumbling, they are now rattled and their tiers will collapse in Worli,” said Shelar sarcastically, targeting its former ally.
Hitting back, Ahir said if they (Shelar & BJP) are so obsessed with Worli, then he should change the constituency and contest from Worli, and the people here will show them their level in the elections.
Aditya Thackeray said Worli has suddenly become the beloved of the BJP and they are welcome to organise their celebrations, but the people of the constituency know ‘the traitors’ and will teach them a lesson soon.
After Ahira’s NGO Sankalp Pratisthan stopped organising dahi-handi at Jamboree Maidan in 2015, Sena MLA Sunil Shinde took over in 2019, but this year the BJP beat it in securing permission for the ground.
