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Uddhav Thackeray made the defiant remarks as his party faces a fresh revolt with six MPs set to join the Shinde Sena.
Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray. (PTI File Image)
Embattled Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray defiantly asserted that he is leading the original Shiv Sena in response to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s assertion that Eknath Shinde led the only Shiv Sena. His remarks came as the party faces a fresh revolt with six MPs set to join the Shinde Sena.
Thackeray said he was not demoralised by the rebellion of six MPs, while addressing party workers in Bhandup, which fell under rebel Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Patil’s Mumbai North-East constituency. He also apologised to the voters for fielding Patil in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Thackeray mentioned that the undivided Shiv Sena, founded by his father Bal Thackeray, fought against Congress for over 30 years. “However, the Congress never tried to steal or finish the Sena the way the BJP had done. This is a sin of the BJP. Shiv Sena, headed by me, is the only Shiv Sena,” he said.
“There can be just one Shiv Sena chief, who is Bal Thackeray. An outsider cannot decide the Shiv Sena chief. You stay in your limits,” Thackeray said, referring to Shah without naming him.
Amit Shah’s ‘Only One Shiv Sena’ Remark
Uddhav’s remarks came after Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday declared that there is now only one Shiv Sena, the faction led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
“Earlier, Shinde was called a faction. Now only one Shiv Sena exists, there is no other faction,” Shah said a gathering in Kolhapur. The remark is being seen as a strong endorsement of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, which was recognised by the Election Commission as the official Shiv Sena following the 2022 split with the Uddhav Thackeray-led camp.
Uddhav Thackeray’s party is facing a major crisis after UBT MP Omraje Nimbalkar confirmed that he was joining the Shinde-led Shiv Sena, with five other MPs expected to follow suit.
These six MPs – including Sanjay Dina Patil, Sanjay Deshmukh, Sanjay Jadhav, Bhausaheb Wakchaure, Nagesh Patil-Ashtikar and Nimbalkar – skipped a parliamentary party meeting in Delhi last week, fuelling speculation of the split.
Nimbalkar and Ashtikar have confirmed that they are joining the Shinde Sena. Moments later, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis added: “Operation is successful”, remarks that are likely to intensify speculation about further defections from the Uddhav Thackeray camp.
About the Author
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in int…Read More
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