Ahead of PM and Amit Shah's visit, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu gets Konkan role

MUMBAI: Just days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah's visit to Mumbai on Friday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has conveyed to its top leaders in Maharashtra that railway minister Suresh Prabhu will look after the party’s organisational work in the Konkan region of the state.

Prabhu was elected five times from Konkan -- a traditional Shiv Sena bastion -- to the Lok Sabha when he was with the Sena. By putting Prabhu in charge of Konkan, BJP wants to send out a message that it is keen to challenge the Sena at its own backyard.

Curiously, the move – Prabhu helming Konkan -- also implies that despite Sena’s participation in the BJPled government in the state, all's not well between the two allies. Prabhu, a former Sena leader, would make things a little difficult for his former party.

“Konkan was always a Shiv Sena bastion, but in the last few years Congress leader Narayan Rane created a base in the region. Rane dominated Konkan for over 10 years, but conceded space to Sena in the recent Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. But now there could be a tussle between the BJP and Sena for this political space since the Congress has left a void.

Shah will be reaching Mumbai on Friday to take stock of the party’s organisational work, and will be holding a meeting with party activists. “Amit Shah will be giving directions about the campaign strategy to be adopted ahead of the municipal elections in the state in the coming months,” said a BJP leader, preferring anonymity.