THANE: Forests minister and BJP politician Ganesh Naik announced his second ‘janta darbar‘ in the city next month following the response received to the inaugural event on Monday, which saw over 550 applications.
While political observers see this as a fresh attempt by BJP to dig in its heels in the Shiv Sena stronghold of Thane, Naik, who was also anointed as the ‘sampark pramukh’ for the district, dismissed any such advances and maintained he was simply following the directions given by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.
The idea of the darbar is to bring the administration closer to citizens instead of having them travel to the state headquarters at Mantralaya, he said. Mahayuti is working smoothly with equal participation from Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP, he said.
“I was the guardian minister of Thane for nearly three terms and conducted such darbars in the past also. I recently scheduled a public meeting in Navi Mumbai and Palghar and conducted my first darbar here in Thane. The response has been overwhelming, and citizens seem to be dissatisfied as their issues are still pending.
“We resolved some issues today, while the rest were forwarded to the departments concerned. I will hold my second ‘janta darbar’ next month and do a review,” he told reporters.
Even as Naik openly dismissed speculation of BJP attempting to make inroads in the district, those in political circles spoke of his ambition to wield control over the region in view of his work and ground connect. “Naik was the guardian minister for three terms but later got restricted to Navi Mumbai after Shinde rose within the region in the last few years,” an observer said. Meanwhile, Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske refuted speculation that BJP was attempting to wrest control over Thane, saying Naik was a senior Mahayuti leader and there was no reason for his party to object to his darbars. “We also hold daily public meets but don’t announce it.”