In a setback for the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), party spokesperson and MLC (Member of the Legislative Council) Manisha Kayande joined Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, becoming the second MLC from the Thackeray group to defect to the ruling camp since Mr. Shinde’s intra-party revolt in June last year.
Ms. Kayande, who began her political career with the BJP, joined the Shinde camp in the Chief Minister’s presence late on Sunday night, hours before the Shiv Sena’s 57th ‘Foundation Day’ on Monday.
“The majority of the Shiv Sena is with Eknath Shinde. So, I have not changed my party but merely joined the ‘real’ Shiv Sena which is preserving Balasaheb Thackeray’s ideals. This [Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis] government is completing a year. I have joined Shinde ji after witnessing the rapid pace of development in the State under his leadership,” said Ms. Kayande, speaking on Monday.
She said that while she had no intent to personally criticise anyone, she found it “hard to defend the people whom Mr. Thackeray had surrounded himself with” and remarked that the contradictory ideologies of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) were proving untenable for her.
Ms. Kayande further claimed that she felt “stifled” in the Thackeray faction and was not allowed to speak freely on issues.
“I have supported Mr. Thackeray with my heart and soul. I am grateful for making me party spokesperson and given the post of an MLC. But after a while, I could not support his drift from the Hindutva ideology,” Ms. Kayande said.
She further claimed that Shiv Sena loyalists had never liked the MVA alliance and the Sena’s hobnobbing with the ideologically opposed Sharad Pawar-led NCP and the Congress, but that they nonetheless towed the party line for a while.
Savarkar issue
“However, when the water rises above one’s head and when one cannot defend things with conviction, be it the [MVA’s stance on] the Savarkar issue or anything else, then one cannot continue to remain in that party,” said Ms. Kayande.
Earlier, in February this year, Sena (UBT) MLC Viplav Bajoria had switched over to Chief Minister Shinde’s camp. Forty MLAs and 13 MPs are currently with Mr. Shinde following his revolt in June last year which led to the collapse of the MVA government headed by Mr. Thackeray.
Her defection follows close on the heels of that of former MLA Shishir Shinde, who quit Mr. Thackeray’s side on June 17.
One of the old-time Sainiks known as an aggressive street-fighter, Mr. Shishir Shinde gained notoriety for being one of the Shiv Sena activists who had dug up the Wankhede Stadium cricket pitch in Mumbai ahead of the India-Pakistan match in October 1991 which led to the series being cancelled.
He had joined Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) when the latter broke away from the Shiv Sena to form his own party. However, in 2018, Mr. Shishir Shinde came back to Mr. Uddhav Thackeray’s Sena.
While resigning from the party, Mr. Shishir Shinde complained it was “impossible” to meet with Mr. Thackeray in person and said his post of deputy leader in the Sena (UBT) was merely ornamental.
“On June 19, 2018, I had joined the Shiv Sena. But after that, I was not given any responsibility till June 30, 2022. Every political party worker has some identity and certain qualities. But I regret that during these four years, my achievements, organisational skills, tremendous determination to complete a task at hand, and intimate connections in various sectors of society were ignored. I feel that four precious years of my life were wasted… On June 30, 2022, I was suddenly appointed as “Shiv Sena Deputy Leader” and got an ornamental post with no responsibility. I am resigning from the post of deputy leader of the Shiv Sena and the party from today,” Mr. Shishir Shinde said in the letter of June 17.
‘Who is she?’
Meanwhile, speaking on Ms. Kayande’s defection, Thackeray camp spokesperson Sanjay Raut said it would not have the slightest effect on the Sena (UBT).
“Who is she? Such people come and go…The wind takes away such trash,” said Mr. Raut, in a sharp reaction to Ms. Kayande’s defection.
A teacher by profession, Ms. Kayande had started her political career with the BJP and contested the Mumbai civic election in 1997 which she lost.
She contested the 2009 Assembly election from Mumbai’s Sion-Koliwada but bit the dust in that contest as well.
She then joined the Shiv Sena in 2012 and was appointed as party spokesperson in 2014. In 2017, she was sent to the Upper House of the State Legislature, becoming an MLC.
