Ahead of BMC Elections 2022, former Shiv Sena MLA Trupti Sawant joins BJP

Former Shiv Sena MLA from Bandra East Trupti Sawant joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the presence of Devendra Fadnavis, the former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, and Pravin Darekar.

Trupti is the wife of late Prakash Sawant, popularly known as Bala Sawant, who was considered close to late Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray.

शिवसेनेच्या माजी आमदार तृप्ती सावंत यांनी आज माजी मुख्यमंत्री आणि विधानसभेतील विरोधी पक्षनेते @Dev_Fadnavis यांच्या उपस्थितीत भाजपात प्रवेश केला.विधानपरिषदेतील विरोधी पक्षनेते प्रवीण दरेकर,मुंबई भाजपाचे अध्यक्ष मंगल प्रभात लोढा,नितेश राणे,अतुल भातखळकर आणि इतरही नेते उपस्थित होते. pic.twitter.com/xdlpkNOPzz

— @OfficeOfDevendra (@Devendra_Office) April 6, 2021

Ahead of the BMC Elections 2022, the development is being seen as a move to challenge the ruling MVA government-led by Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray.

During the Maharashtra Assembly elections in 2019, Trupti Sawant was expelled from the Shiv Sena, reports suggested. She wasn’t given a ticket to contest in the elections by the Shiv Sena. Trupti Sawant then announced that she will be contesting as an independent candidate in the elections. She was subsequently expelled from the party after that.

It is also said that Uddhav Thackeray, the present Chief Minister of Maharashtra, had asked her to withdraw her nomination. However, she didn’t agree to his demand.

In the 2015 Bandra East by-election, Sawant managed to defeat Narayan Rane, the ex-Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

During the 2019 election, the Shiv Sena favoured Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar over her. However, a senior Shiv Sena leader claimed that Sawant’s performance after a 2015 won wasn’t satisfactory. He said that Trupti had won the election because of the sympathy she had gained after her husband died. He also added that it was the other Shiv Sainiks who worked hard to topple Narayan Rane in that election.

Trupti’s husband became a legislator within the Shiv Sena in 2014. He was earlier the corporator of his constituency in 2009. He then passed away in 2015.