Shiv Sena leader and former Maharashtra minister Arjun Khotkar on Saturday said he has joined Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's faction due to certain "circumstances and problems." He had resigned from his post as a deputy leader of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, Mr. Khotkar told reporters here. "Due to some circumstances and problems, I decided to leave Shiv Sena. I have no grudges or resentment towards Thackeray. Certain circumstances compelled me to leave the party," Mr. Khotkar said.
He spoke to Mr. Thackeray and the latter told him that he could join the Shinde faction if that was going to solve his problems, he said.
Mr. Khotkar was a minister in the Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP-Sena government between 2016 to 2019. He was recently promoted as a Shiv Sena deputy leader by Mr. Thackeray.