03 June,2011 06:51 AM IST | | Vivek Sabnis
35 members back senior leader's plan to go to Delhi to protest against phone voting system to elect city chief
Yogesh Gogawale has garnered more supporters within his party. A total of 35 members of the BJP have joined hands with Gogawale, who plans to meet senior party leader L K Advani in Delhi on June 5 to protest against the telephone voting system that was used to elect party city unit president Vikas Mathkari. "We are not rebels, but only fighting against the wrong system in our party to elect the city president," said Madhuri Misal, a MLA who is leading those supporting Gogawale. According to Misal, electing the BJP president in the city by using telephone or mobile phone method without any prior intimation is undemocratic.
United: Yogesh Gogawale, Madhuri Misal, Mukta Tilak and others at a
press meet yesterday
Mukta Tilak, group leader and BJP corporator, said that there was a party protocol to announce the president election, the voting process, the declaration of the leader and the handing over of charges. "Nothing was followed in the recent election process," she said. "We all read the winning candidate's name (Vikas Mathkari) in the local papers the next day; 25 voted for Mathkari, 12 voted for Gogawale and seven voters remained silent." Gogawale said 21 of the total 30 voters were also shocked when they learnt the news about the new party president. "They are all loyal to me and ready to come to Delhi to meet Advaniji on June 5. We are also meeting (Venkaiah) Naidu and the BJP national president Nitin Gadkari to raise the issue," he said.
BJP turmoil good for NCP: Mayor
Mayor Mohansingh Rajpal said that the BJP had become leaderless like the Congress. "The Congress city president is now in jail and infighting in many groups is still rampant," he said. "This shall help my Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to get maximum seats in the coming municipal election."
Support team
The people from the BJP who support Gogawale and are going with him to Delhi are: Madhuri Misal, Anil Shirole, Dilip Kamble, Mukta Tilak, Murali Mohal, Sandeep Khardekar, Shrinath Bhimale, Sunita Chintal, Madan Dangi, Ajay Marne, Vishwas Nanaware, Mauli Kudle, Ravi Tupe, Mukesh Gawli, Bharat Vairagi, Jagannath Kulkarni, Shyam Satpute, Atul Gaikwad, Santosh Rajguru, Gopal Chintal and Madhu Kulkarni.
