Ajit Pawar Publicly Ticks Off Kirit Somaiya, BJP Silent?

Kirit Somaiya, who rose up from the ranks to become a MP of the BJP, finds himself isolated within his own party. The fact that a coalition party leader like NCP’s Ajit Pawar could publicly tick him off without any protest from the BJP, clearly highlighted Somaiya’s lack of standing in his own party. The junior Pawar warned him to stay off Masjids since it escalated social tensions after Muslim legislators and leaders across Mumbai protested against his campaign against loudspeakers in Masjids. Muslim legislators across the board approached Ajit Pawar demanding he rein back Somaiya particularly since his campaign against Masjid loudspeakers created outrage in the community. Notwithstanding a token voice of support from Mumbai president Ashish Shelar, forget outrage there was not even a whimper of protest from within the BJP. Somaiya, once known to be close to the party leadership, found himself systematically isolated in the BJP. Despite raising high decibel anti-corruption campaigns against the likes of Ajit Pawar, Hasan Mushrif, Narayan Rane, Sunil Tatkare, Chhagan Bhujbal, Uddhav Thackeray, he and his son found themselves denied party tickets. Almost all his campaigns failed to withstand legal scrutiny after most of those accused either joined the BJP or its coalition partners. Viral videos of him in a compromising position and charges of misappropriation of funds raised for INS Vikrant ship, were the last nail in his political career. But the persistent Somaiya refuses to give up and keeps raising controversial issues like that of illegal entry of Bangladeshis or illegal loudspeakers in Masjids, subjects that the party keeps at an arm’s length.