Speaking to The Indian Express on Wednesday, Khandare dismissed all allegations levelled against him by BJP leaders and said: ``The aid is for my constituency and the SMC got it owing only to my efforts and followup. Mengaji is the MLA from North Solapur. He has no right to `thrust his nose'' in my constituency's affairs. And he was never in the panel formed for development of these areas''.

Khandare did not stop here. He said BJP corporators and MLA had always put obstacles in getting the aid and intentionally made allout efforts to delay it because of their vested interests.``I had met Chief Minister Manohar Joshi in Pandharpur, Nagpur and dozens of times in Mumbai, followed up my demands as I know the problems of my constituency,'' he said. All was well between the alliance partners until the aid arrived here. The relations soured when the Shiv Sena kept aside Mengaji and BJP city unit president Col. Prabhakar Landge from the function to hand over the cheque to the SMC, obviously to hog all the the credit for the much-publicised aid.

Irked by the tactics, Col. Landge, known for his straightforwardness, fired the first salvo openly alleging that Khandare had fooled citizens by handing over an empty envelope to the SMC officials. He lambasted the Sena for appropriating the credit when both Khandare and Mengaji had made joint efforts.His strictures made Khandare restless. Allegations and counter-allegations flew through press releases. Khandare described Landge's statement as hasty, made without knowing facts and in a fit of anger. He said the cheque had been deposited with a bank. He challenged Landge to prove the charge.

Mengaji attacked Khandare for neglecting the panel formed to plan developmental works. He said the panel comprising himself, guardian minister Jagannath Patil, Khandare and the collector was formed to get the aid. ``The aid was only Rs. 2 crore. My efforts raised it up to Rs. 2.5 crore,'' Mengaji revealed. He criticised the Sena for forgetting ``our efforts.''Many eyebrows have been raised over the BJP-Sena wranglings over the credit. The grassroot workers are in a dilemma over how to react.