Following the resignation of former Thane Deputy Mayor Milind Patankar after he was manhandled last week, BJP corporator Mukesh Mokashi was today elected unopposed on the post.
The BJP-Shiv Sena fielded Mokashi for the post. Since his was the only application received in the Thane Municipal Corporation on the last day of the filing of nominations, he has been elected unopposed.
However, the formal announcement about the election will be made on January 8, sources said.
BJP city president Milind Patankar, who also held the post of Thane Deputy Mayor, was allegedly attacked by an angry mob of Shiv Sena and BJP activists on December 23 after the defeat of Sena nominee Pappu Kadam in the elections to the Civic Transport Committee Chairman.
Patankar was accused of engineering a split in BJP, due to which Kadam was defeated by one vote in the polls. Patankar later resigned from the post and reportedly went missing.
Condemning the manhandling of Patankar, the NCP had earlier today said that the party and its ally Congress, would not contest the elections for the Deputy Mayor's post due on January 8.
"It is shameful on the part of the civic corporation where the Deputy Mayor is manhandled and forced to resign just because the Shiv Sena nominee lost the election," NCP MLA and party's state unit executive president, Jitendra Awhad told this in a press conference.
"One should accept the results sportingly...We do not subscribe to this kind of hooliganism," he said.
"Police are equally to be blamed for the incident. They just pretended as if they are taking action against the hooligans, while the actual trouble makers are roaming scot-free," he alleged.
"There is no law and order left in the city. Despite being a witness to the manhandling incident, police are waiting an offence to be registered in this case. The Deputy Mayor is still missing and nobody knows where he is," he said.
The NCP leader said, he had taken up the issue with the Chief Minister.
