When late on Friday, the BJP’s Kalyan (East) MLA Ganpat Gaikwad opened fire at Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) leader Mahesh Gaikwad inside the Hill Line police station in Ulhasnagar in Thane district, it marked a new low in Maharashtra politics.

Both leaders belonging to the ruling coalition had approached the police station along with their supporters to lodge complaints over a land dispute. After a heated argument, the BJP MLA pointed a gun at the Shinde Sena leader and fired. Taken aback, Mahesh tried to run but tripped and fell, at which time Ganpat pumped several bullets into him at point blank range. Mahesh, who was seriously injured, had to be rushed to Jupiter Hospital in Thane.

A former corporator, Mahesh is the Shinde Sena’s Ulhasnagar chief. Insiders say Mahesh is always seen surrounded by a dozen followers, a measure of his political clout. They attribute his quick rise in politics to support from the Shinde group, which was said to be considering him as its candidate for the Kalyan (East) Assembly seat in the coming polls, bringing him into conflict with Ganpat.

Already, there are whispers of a rift within the ruling coalition. Acknowledging the point, BJP insiders said, “Although a land dispute may have led to the immediate incident, the rivalry between Mahesh and Ganpat is the outcome of an ugly war to control Kalyan (East).”

Three-term MLA Ganpat is considered to be the unchallenged leader in Kalyan (East), one of the six Assembly segments that constitute the Kalyan Lok Sabha seat, which was created in 2009.

That was also the year when Ganpat, who runs a popular cable TV network in the area, stepped into electoral politics. Contesting as an Independent, he beat his Shiv Sena and Congress rivals to win the Kalyan (East) seat, polling 49% of the total votes.

That electoral success, which also made him the first MLA of the newly-created Kalyan (East) Assembly segment, empowered him politically at a time when an undivided Shiv Sena and BJP were alliance partners.

In 2014, Gaikwad again contested as an Independent and won the seat. The 2014 Assembly polls saw multi-cornered contest across Maharashtra, as the Congress, NCP, Shiv Sena and BJP fought separately. Against four strong contenders — Shiv Sena’s Gopal Landge, BJP’s Vishal Pawshe, NCP’s Nilesh Shinde and MNS’s Niten Nikam — Gaikwad held his own, although his vote share dropped to 26%.

A Kalyan (East)-based BJP functionary said, “Gaikwad’s association with the BJP has only been since 2019. But BJP offered him the party ticket looking at his winnability.”

Hailing from a humble background, Ganpat studied in a Zilla Parishad school. His family includes wife Sulabha and children Sayali and Pranav. Nowadays, he introduces himself as a farmer, social worker and businessman. But it is his cable TV network that gives him an advantage over rivals.

A local BJP office bearer, requesting anonymity, said, “Ganpat Gaikwad’s cable network is his USP. During elections, he often gives free cable services for up to a year to the people.” Even local political rivals do not antagonise him, knowing the power of communication via his cable network.

As an Independent MLA before 2019, he went after both the NCP and the BJP, the two parties that have significant presence in the area.

In 2019, the BJP made Ganpat its candidate, supported by its then ally, the undivided Shiv Sena. He polled 39% of the total votes to defeat the Independent nominee Dhananjay Borade and the NCP’s Prakash Tare.

The relationship between the Eknath Shinde group and the BJP in Kalyan began to sour ever since Shinde took charge as the Chief Minister in June 2022. BJP insiders say the Kalyan Lok Sabha MP Shrikant Shinde, the CM’s son, has become very influential, empowering the local Shinde Sena workers. This has led to frequent clashes between the BJP and Shinde Sena workers over the last one-and-a-half years.

At a Lok Sabha campaign meeting in Kalyan last year, Ganpat was among the BJP leaders who signed a resolution demanding that the Kalyan Lok Sabha candidate be changed. Local BJP leaders and MLAs even ran a campaign against Shrikant Shinde, urging the top BJP leadership to give a party leader the Lok Sabha ticket, threatening to boycott the polls otherwise.

After a series of meetings and interventions, the BJP leadership decided to retain the sitting Sena MP, and told state BJP minister Girish Mahajan and Ravindra Chavan to hold discussions with the party’s local unit to assuage their concerns.

Meanwhile, even after Friday’s shooting episode, Ganpat remains unrepentant. Speaking to the media, he said, “Yes, I shot him (Mahesh). I have no regrets. What I did was in self defense. How can I, as a father, watch unmoved as Shiv Sena (Shinde) leaders beat up my son and drag him to the police station?”

He added, “I had repeatedly complained to the top state leadership, including deputy CM and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis, about the highhandedness of Sena’s Mahesh Gaikwad. But nothing happened.”

The developments have shaken the local BJP, especially as it comes close to 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Fadnavis has already ordered a high-level probe. The police has been asked to have the incident probed by an additional police commissioner.

A state BJP general secretary said, “The party will have to distance itself from the incident. Irrespective of the reasons that led to the crime, there can be no justification for an MLA to shoot someone. It is a crime that will not go unpunished. The party will take appropriate action.”

The Opposition is already attacking the BJP. NCP MP Supriya Sule said, “A BJP MLA using a gun to fire at a rival is a serious law and order challenge. Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis should resign.”

Senior Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly, Vijay Wadettiwar, said, “It is shocking. A BJP MLA fires inside a police station. Where is law and order?” It also exposed the rivalry between the parties of the ruling coalition.

Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena faction’s leader Sanjay Raut said that they had warned of the “consequences” after the BJP joined hands with the Shinde Sena, adding that their “rivalry has now grown to such an extent that they are ready to kill each other”.