After the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) claimed that 22 legislators and nine Lok Sabha MPs of the rival Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena were reportedly unhappy with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis riposted by alleging “massive unrest” within Mr. Thackeray’s camp.
“The unrest within Thackeray’s outfit is due to three or four people. It will be out in the public soon. Why should I speak about it? Everybody will come to know about it,” said Mr. Fadnavis on Tuesday.
While the BJP leader refused to elaborate on who was allegedly creating ‘unrest’ within the Thackeray camp, it is believed his jibe was directed at the circle close to Mr. Thackeray, particularly Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, who is executive editor of his party’s mouthpiece Saamana.
An edit in the Saamana claimed that 22 MLAs and nine MPs of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s faction could quit as they were reportedly feeling stifled by the “step-motherly treatment” of their ally, the BJP. The edit further claimed that senior Shinde camp leaders like MP Gajanan Kirtikar had reportedly expressed displeasure over the BJP’s attitude to the Shinde camp leaders.
As many as 40 legislators and 13 MPs of the then undivided Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray had joined Mr. Shinde following the latter’s revolt in June last year, which brought down Mr. Thackeray’s tripartite Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government and so Mr. Shinde and his rebel faction come to power along with the BJP.
Endorsing the claim made in the Saamana edit, Sena (UBT) Lok Sabha MP Vinayak Raut said that there was “great unrest” within the Shinde camp due to the BJP’s domineering attitude and that a number of disgruntled MPs and MLAs were reportedly in touch with the Sena (UBT) faction.
“Mr. Fadnavis should not worry about our [the Thackeray] group. He ought to worry about the troubles in his alliance with the Shinde group…The dissatisfaction within the Shinde camp is now out in the open. Many legislators are complaining they are not getting funds for development works in their constituencies,” alleged Mr. Vinayak Raut, the MP for the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg constituency.
While acknowledging that 22 MLAs and nine MPs of CM Shinde’s faction were indeed in touch with the Thackeray camp, Mr. Raut stressed that those who had “betrayed” Mr. Thackeray will not be allowed re-entry into the Sena (UBT).
The verbal slanging match between the Sena (UBT) leaders and the BJP-Shinde camp come ahead of the June 19 Foundation Day of the Shiv Sena, which will see gargantuan shows of strength on part of both the Thackeray- and Shinde-led rival Sena factions.
