Maharashtra BJP jolted ahead of Palghar election
Palghar (Maharashtra), May 4: In a jolt to the BJP, family members of the late Lok Sabha member Chintaman Vanga from Palghar walked over to ally Shiv Sena, accusing the former of meting out "injustice".
Jaishree, the widow of Vanga, the BJP MP who died on January 30 in New Delhi after a heart attack, along with her children Srinivas and Prafulla called on Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray late on Thursday and announced their decision to quit the BJP.
"Since the past over 35 years, Chintaman Vanga has built up the party in this region, but the BJP leaders have done injustice to us and totally ignored us. We sought time from Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and BJP state President Raosaheb Patil-Danve but we got no response," said Jaishree Vanga.
Accordingly, the family said it had decided to quit the Bharatiya Janata Party and join the Shiv Sena.
Welcoming them to the party fold, Thackeray said the Vanga family had thrown its lot with the Shiv Sena to further the cause of 'Hindutva' ideology and to avoid a split in Hindutva votes.
"We hold the Vanga family in high regards. They have not demanded party ticket for the upcoming Lok Sabha bypolls (May 28). We shall discuss the matters jointly with the Shiv Sena workers in Palghar and take a final decision on the candidate," Thackeray said.
He said if it was a matter of getting an election ticket, they could have gone to any party, but they preferred the Shiv Sena on ideological grounds.
Jaishree Vanga said that since the past many decades, they have enjoyed cordial relations with both the Shiv Sena founder-partriarch, the late Bal Thackeray, and his son Uddhav Thackeray.
"Our father worked hard for the party even when it had two MPs, but now after his death, we have been left in the lurch," one of the sons pointed out.
Adding that there would be no alliance with the BJP in any future election, Thackeray said after a meeting with his party leaders, he would take the final call on announcing candidates for the Palghar and Bhandara-Gondiya Lok Sabha bypolls scheduled this month-end.
The ruling BJP has not yet officially reacted to the developments in Palghar, a crucial constituency with a large number of tribals and backward classes voters, around 100 km north of Mumbai.
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Kangana Ranaut sparks row: Claims Gandhi made 'Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram' the national anthem
New Delhi: A significant political controversy has erupted following the Modi government's decision to rename the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), a move that has drawn sharp criticism from opposition parties. The row was further fueled by BJP MP Kangana Ranaut, who, while defending the name change, erroneously claimed that Mahatma Gandhi had made the devotional song "Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram" India’s national anthem.
The central government has rebranded the flagship rural employment scheme from MGNREGA to the "Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Employment and Livelihood Mission," abbreviated as VB-G RAM G. The removal of Mahatma Gandhi's name from the scheme has been termed an insult to the Father of the Nation by the Congress and other opposition parties.
When questioned by the media outside Parliament regarding the opposition's allegations, Mandi MP Kangana Ranaut defended the government's decision by invoking Mahatma Gandhi's devotion to Lord Ram.
"How is naming it 'Ram Ji' an insult to Gandhi ji?" Ranaut asked. "Mahatma Gandhi made 'Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram' the national anthem to organize the entire country. Therefore, this is an insult to Mahatma Gandhi? The government is fulfilling his dream by giving it the name of Ram."
Ranaut's claim regarding the national anthem was immediately seized upon by the opposition. Congress leader Supriya Shrinate shared the video of Ranaut’s statement on social media, tweeting sarcastically, "Come on brother, today we learned a new national anthem! The BJP is full of such gems."
Social media users also trolled the MP for the factual error. One user quipped, "Kangana ji forgot to mention that Bapu made this the national anthem after the country got independence in 2014," while another commented that the party finds people who "don't use their brains while forwarding WhatsApp messages."
Beyond the social media mockery, senior Congress leaders criticised the renaming on ideological grounds. Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot took to X (formerly Twitter) to condemn the move.
"The biggest irony is that Mahatma Gandhi was a lifelong devotee of Lord Ram and said 'Hey Ram' in his last moments," Gehlot wrote. "Today, the central government is making a despicable attempt to sideline Gandhi ji under the guise of the same 'Ram' name (VB-G RAM G), which is highly condemnable."
मनरेगा का नाम बदलने की केंद्र सरकार की कवायद महात्मा गांधी के प्रति उनकी ओछी मानसिकता और असम्मान का प्रमाण है। सरकार पहले 'पूज्य बापू' के नाम का शिगूफा छोड़ती है और फजीहत होने पर अब 'विकसित भारत-गारंटी फॉर रोजगार एंड आजीविका मिशन (VB-G RAM G)' जैसा नाम थोपना चाहती है। बार-बार नाम…
— Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) December 15, 2025
गांधी जी ने ‘रघुपति राघव राजा राम’ को लेकर नेशनल एंथम बनाया था
— Supriya Shrinate (@SupriyaShrinate) December 16, 2025
BJP MP कंगना रनौत
चलो भाई आज नया नेशनल एंथम भी पता चला है!
BJP में एक से एक शिरोमणि भरे पड़े हैं 😂🤣 pic.twitter.com/9DvyV5xLb1
