Jalgaon: A day after a Shiv Sena MP requested party chief Uddhav Thackeray to declare support for NDA’s presidential candidate Draupadi Murmu, a rebel MLA on Wednesday claimed that 12 out of 18 Shiv Sena MPs Soon he will join the faction led by Eknath Shinde. Speaking to reporters in his constituency in Jalgaon district, Gulabrao Patil, a minister in the previous Thackeray-led Maharashtra government, said the Shinde faction would restore the party’s pride.
He said, “40 out of 55 MLAs of our (rebel camp) are with us, and 12 out of 18 MPs are coming with us. So whose party is it? I have personally met four MPs. With us 22 former There are MLAs too,” he said. On Tuesday, Shiv Sena Lok Sabha member Rahul Shewale urged Thackeray to ask party MPs to support NDA candidate Draupadi Murmu, considering her tribal roots and contribution to the social sector.
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Both the Uddhav Thackeray loyalists and the Eknath Shinde faction have claimed that their respective group represents the parent Shiv Sena. Of the 55 Shiv Sena MLAs, 40 are with Chief Minister Shinde. Patil further said that he did not quit the party for power, but “quit power when we were ministers”. “Not one, but eight ministers left the party. It means we want to save our Shiv Sena,” he said.