BJP jumps onto MNS rail wagon

Mumbai: The lure of attracting the Marathi manoos vote bank by pushing for locals to grab railway jobs has proved too much even for the north-centric Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to resist.

The move, which follows in the footsteps of the MNS, has led to a political war with both parties claiming ownership of the idea.

Soon after 10,000 railway vacancies were announced for gangmen, cleaners, trainers and other such posts, the parties started looking for ways to publicise them and ensure that they went to the 'sons of the soil'.

BJP leader Pravin Chheda distributed 10,000 application forms and then held a seminar for local youth on Sunday. "I was the first to distribute forms in the city and make the locals aware of the recruitment process.

We even held a seminar to teach applicants how to fill the forms, for their applications could be rejected because of mistakes."

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Chheda claimed applicants from the city are usually not aware about the vacancies and do not know how to the fill the forms.

"Hence, they lose the opportunity and other people, especially from the north, get the jobs," he said.  Interestingly, the BJP enjoys the support of the highest number of north Indian voters in the city.

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The MNS, meanwhile, has decorated the city with posters declaring the vacancies.

Sporting their election symbol, the railway engine, the posters say in Marathi, 'We are informing you about the vacancies. Better apply now and grab them. Do not repent later.'

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Senior MNS leader Shalini Thackeray said, "We were the first to raise the issue. Our motto has been always to see to it that the bhumiputras get preference.

We are putting up hoardings and spreading the message, because we want the Marathi manoos to get jobs in the railways."

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When the leaders were asked, however, whether all this was being done to gain political mileage in the run up to the BMC elections, they both vehemently denied it.

"We are going to continue our work. We had promised that whenever there is a vacancy, we will keep our local people informed about it and that is exactly what we are doing.

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Our campaign for the BMC elections is different and it's going on separately," said Thackeray.

The MNS burnt its fingers with the issue in 2008 when party chief Raj Thackeray had to go to different courts because his party's men had attacked students from other states who had come to appear for the railway exam. The Shiv Sena was also accused of beating up applicants at Kalyan station in 2004.