In a setback to the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, former corporators of the party have extended support to the camp led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who officially took charge of his post at the State secretariat, Mantralaya, on Thursday.
On Wednesday night, 66 former corporators of the Thane Municipal Corporation, Mr. Shinde’s home turf, joined his group.
Even as party insiders claim that the move was expected, a group of 30 former party corporators from the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation is expected to switch camps on Friday. Former party MP Anandrao Adsul too has resigned as a ‘Shiv Sena neta’ and is likely to desert the Thackerays.
‘Need to consult BJP’
Deepak Kesarkar, spokesperson of the Shinde-led group, said there was no question of them returning to the Thackeray-led party without holding consultations with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
He said their camp was now not alone and the BJP should also be considered in the new political equation in the State.
Mr. Kesarkar said those responsible for the current crisis in the Sena should be removed from the inner circle of the Thackerays.
“Those responsible for this situation may not be thrown out of the Sena, but they will have to be sidelined. These people used to stop us from directly meeting Uddhavji. This cannot happen now,” he said.
Targeting Sena MP Sanjay Raut, Mr. Kesarkar said, “He [Raut] doesn’t even know what is going on. He has this false perception that he is close to him [Thackeray]. He might be closer to [Sharad] Pawar sahib, but I am not sure how much he loves Uddhavji. Let me be clear that I personally had talked to Uddhavji about joining the BJP five times.”
Mr. Kesarkar also criticised the Sena’s decision on Wednesday to replace Yavatmal-Washim MP Bhavana Gawali as the party’s chief whip in the Lok Sabha with Thackeray loyalist Rajan Vichare
Sena MP from Palghar Rajendra Gavit has now joined the growing chorus demanding that the Sena MPs extend support to Draupadi Murmu, the Presidential candidate of the NDA. Three Lok Sabha MPs have so far openly demanded Mr. Thackeray to join hands with the BJP or the NDA. The number of such legislators is likely to rise in the coming days.
