The twists and turns in the Shiv Sena saga since Eknath Shinde’s intra-party rebellion continued unabated after a tweet by Sena leader and Marathi actor Deepali Sayed suggesting parleys between Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and Mr. Shinde, the new Maharashtra Chief Minister, sparked a furore in the State’s political circles on Sunday.
In her tweet, Ms. Sayed said: “Feeling better after knowing that in two days’ time, Uddhav Thackeray and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, respecting the sentiments of Shiv Sena workers, will be coming together and holding talks for the first time [since Mr. Shinde’s revolt]. It is clear that Mr. Shinde has understood the torment in the minds of the Shiv Sainiks and Mr. Thackeray has displayed magnanimity as ‘head of the family’.”
She further thanked Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders for helping to ‘mediate’ (between Mr. Thackeray and Mr. Shinde) without naming who they were.
However, Sena MP Sanjay Raut, the spokesperson of the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction, dismissed Ms. Sayed’s remarks as “irresponsible” while stating that only spokespersons or senior leaders in the party had the right to make such statements.
“I don’t know who has given her [Ms. Sayed] the right to make such statements… She is an actor who happens to be working for the party. She may be a party worker, but not a designated spokesperson of the Shiv Sena. She ought to take care while making such statements,” Mr. Raut said, speaking in Delhi on Sunday.
At the same time, the MP said that despite the 40-odd Sena MLAs in the Shinde camp squarely blaming him for allegedly trying to “finish-off” the party, Mr. Raut said he would be happy if both factions came together again.
Responding to Mr. Raut, Ms. Sayed, speaking to reporters in Mumbai, said she merely wanted to express what was in the minds of ordinary Shiv Sainiks through her tweet.
“Many in the party are hopeful that since the split, this chasm will be filled soon,” she said.
While Ms. Sayed did not clarify when — if at all — Mr. Thackeray and Mr. Shinde would meet, she claimed to have spoken with leaders of both camps prior to her tweet.
“As a Shiv Sainik, I do have the right to express what is in my mind. The Shiv Sena is one family and ought to remain so,” she said, in a riposte to Mr. Raut.
Following Mr. Shinde’s revolt last month which toppled Mr. Thackeray’s tripartite ‘Maha Vikas Aghadi’ government of the Sena, the NCP and the Congress, the rebel camp of 50 MLAs (39 Shiv Sena and 11 Independents) allied with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to form the new government with Mr. Shinde as CM and Devendra Fadnavis as Deputy Chief Minister.
However, more than a fortnight after the duo took power on June 30, the task of Cabinet expansion is yet to be completed.
Lashing out at the delay in Cabinet expansion, Mr. Raut said that the two-man Cabinet of Mr. Shinde and Mr. Fadnavis had become “a joke in the country”.
“Why is it even after 15 days, the Shinde-Fadnavis government has yet to form its Cabinet. Is the BJP, who had previously accused these 40 [rebel Sena] MLAs of various ‘crimes’ when they were in the Opposition, now worried about possible legal complications if they induct such people?” said Mr. Raut, adding that a ‘Damocles sword’ of disqualification hung over the heads of the 40 rebel Shiv Sena MLAs.
He further said that the Shinde camp and the BJP’s delay in forming the new Cabinet was in flagrant disregard of the Constitution and demanded that President’s rule be imposed in Maharashtra.
