Mira Bhayandar: Warring Mehta-Vyas factions in BJP call truce

The faction-ridden BJP in Mira-Bhayandar seems to have finally managed to put its house in order in the twin city, with the warring factions led by a former legislator- Narendra Mehta and city BJP chief- Adv. Ravi Vyas bought the hatchet and called a truce on Saturday.

Notably, the former chief minister and leader of the opposition in the legislative assembly- Devendra Fadnavis is scheduled to visit the twin city for inaugurating the Buddha Vihar and various other developmental projects on 16, May (Buddha Purnima).

The BJP which single-handedly wrestled control over the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) in the 2017 polls was staring at a virtual split owing to the widening rift between Mehta and Vyas. The in-fighting intensified after Mehta vehemently opposed Vyas’s appointment as president of the local BJP unit last year.

Unhappy over the appointment, nearly 42 BJP corporators and office bearers of the party had reached the party’s state headquarters in Mumbai to register their protest in June 2021. However, the state BJP leadership remained unmoved making it clear that the choice was fitting and final. A series of boycotts by the Mehta-led faction in the party's official conclaves and other functions demonstrated that the local unit of the party remains a divided house.

Realizing that the in-fight was bound to dent the electoral fortunes of the party, drastically, BJP leader- Ravindra Chavhan brokered peace between both leaders who said they had buried the hatchet and agreed to work together as a team to further strengthen the party.

Will Band-Aid Truce Hold On?

Although both leaders responded positively to the patch-up call, party cadres from both the factions are still apprehensive, and fear that it is going to be an uneasy truce. With elections to the civic body scheduled to be held in August, this year, the tug-of-war has led to a flood of assurances and promises of tickets to aspirants from both the factions. “It’s a band-aid truce. For now, discontent has been swept under the carpet, but the real test will be during the selection of candidates when ego-clash of stalwarts will come to fore.” observed a political analyst.