Reeling from the revolt by rebel Shiv Sena leader and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, leaders of the beleaguered Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition (of the Nationalist Congress Party, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and the Congress) have made sensational claims that Mr. Shinde had wanted to defect to the Congress in the recent past.
Former four-time MP and Uddhav camp loyalist Chandrakant Khaire on Thursday claimed that Mr. Shinde and other Sena MLAs had harboured such plans when Congressman Prithviraj Chavan was the CM (2010-14). He had been mulling a breakaway faction of the Sena with MLAs to join the Congress, much like his intra-party revolt a few months ago, Mr. Khaire elaborated.
“He [Mr. Shinde] had been after Prithviraj Chavan to join the Congress but nothing came after it. Today, he blames Uddhav Thackeray for allying with Congress to form the MVA but what about his own inclinations at the time?” said Mr. Khaire, an influential Sena leader from Aurangabad district in Marathwada.
