Dozen Shiv Sena State Chiefs Join CM Shinde Camp in Huge Setback to Uddhav Thackeray

A total of 12 state chiefs of the Shiv Sena have joined the Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde camp on Friday. The chiefs include those from Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, and other states.

All the chiefs have been assured that all possible help will be provided for the party’s growth in their respective states, News18 has learnt.

“Shiv Sena regional heads from various states met on Wednesday and all of them announced their support to us. In the meeting concluded on this occasion, a wide discussion was held regarding the expansion of the Shiv Sena party organization in every corner of the country,” CM Shinde said in a tweet.

The state chiefs who have taken CM Shinde’s side include Delhi Shiv Sena State Chief Sandeep Chaudhary, Manipur State Chief Tombi Singh, Madhya Pradesh State Chief Thadeshwar Mahawar, Chhattisgarh State Chief Dhananjay Parihar, Gujarat State Chief S.R.Patil, Rajasthan State Chief Lakhan Singh Pawar, Hyderabad State Chief Murari Anna.

The list also includes Goa State Chief Jitesh Kamat, Karnataka State Chief Kumar A Hakari, West_Bengal State Chief Shanti Dutta, Odisha State In-Charge Jyotishri Prasanna Kumar and Tripura State State In-Charge Barivadev Nath.

Shinde had led a revolt against the Shiv Sena leadership in June this year which resulted in the collapse of the Thackeray-led MVA government. Later, Shinde was sworn in as the CM on June 30 along with BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis as his deputy.

The Supreme Court recently referred to a five-judge bench the petitions filed by the Shiv Sena and CM Eknath Shinde factions raising several constitutional questions related to defection, merger and disqualification.

With the BMC polls coming up, the friction between the Shinde and Thackeray camps have intensified. Recently, party workers from both Sena factions initially clashed in the Prabhadevi area of central Mumbai shortly after September 10 midnight and getting into a scuffle outside the Dadar police station.

Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray on September 11 dared the rebel MLAs who have joined the faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to resign and face elections.

“Why did you backstab us when we gave you everything and why have you not resigned yet to face elections as it happens in a democracy,” the former state minister asked while speaking at the CNN-News18 Town Hall.

Aaditya dismissed claims by the dissidents that he and his father Uddhav Thackeray, who was the chief minister in the erstwhile Maha Vikas Aghadi government, remained inaccessible. He also denied that Shiv Sena’s succession plan was meant to favour him.

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