Mumbai, Dec 29 : The Sharad Pawar-led NCP on Monday received a major blow after the partyâ??s Mumbai unit chief, Rakhi Jadhav, quit the party and joined the BJP. Her move has stunned the Sharad Pawar camp, as she herself was one of the key contestants for the BMC elections and was leading the party for the same.

Jadhav joined the BJP in the presence of Mumbai BJP chief Amit Satam, the BJP in charge of BMC elections, and Information Technology Minister Ashish Shelar, Ghatkopar East legislator Parag Shah, among others.

Incidentally, former minister and prominent BJP leader Prakash Mehta, who had represented the Ghatkopar East constituency earlier, was conspicuous by his absence when Jadhav joined the BJP.

Jadhav is expected to get the BJP nomination from the N ward, from where she was elected earlier, and will be nominated this time, too. She chose to desert NCP(SP) and enter the BJP on the second last day of filing of nominations. The last date is December 30, while the polling is scheduled for January 15 and counting on January. 16.

Jadhav was reportedly unhappy with the seat-sharing arrangement within the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance. She had expressed frustration over the NCP (SP) having to concede several wards in Mumbai to the Shiv Sena (UBT).

Jadhav is a prominent figure in Mumbai politics, having served as a three-time corporator from Ghatkopar and the leader of the NCP in the BMC house. She also contested the 2024 Assembly elections against Parag Shah in Ghatkopar East. Jadhav's exit follows other recent departures from the NCP (SP), including former Pune city chief Prashant Jagtap, who recently joined the Congress.

Jadhav's decision comes when NCP(SP) has yet to arrive at a seat-sharing arrangement with the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT). The veteran NCP(SP) legislator Jayant Patil held talks last week with the Shiv Sena(UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray for an alliance, but they have yet to reach a consensus.

Earlier, the BJP released a first list of 66 candidates for the BMC elections, which includes a mix of Marathi-speaking as well as North Indians, and also veterans and youth. The party has nominated Tejaswini Ghosalkar, who recently quit the Shiv Sena (UBT) and joined the BJP; Neel Somaiya, son of former MP Kirit Somaiya; Navnath Ban, a state party media coordinator; and Ravi Raja, the former Leader of Opposition in the BMC who recently defected from the Congress to join the BJP.

Raja will contest from Ward No 185 in Dharavi, a move seen as a direct challenge to the Congress stronghold in that region. The list also includes Makarand Narvekar (Ward 226) and Harshita Narvekar (Ward 227) (both are family members of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar) and Tejinder Singh Tiwana (Ward 47).

/IANS