Last Update: April 07, 2023, 20:35 IST
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. (File photo/Twitter/ @mieknathshinde)
Shinde carried flags and placards for some distance, and entered train bogies and greeted passengers on their way to Ayodhya
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday flagged off a special train carrying workers of his party Shiv Sena to Ayodhya with much fanfare.
Shinde, dressed in a traditional saffron shawl, flagged off the train at Thane station along with his son Kalyan Lok Sabha MP Shrikant Shinde, Shiv Sena’s welfare wing in-charge Gopal Landge, local leaders and hundreds of party workers. Amidst the slogans of Jai Shri Ram at around 4.40 pm.
Shiv Sainiks traveling by the special train, which was well decorated with ‘Chalo Ayodhya’ boards in front, will welcome their leader when he lands in the city on Sunday.
Amid trumpet blasts and music bands playing, the Chief Minister accompanied by hundreds of Shiv Sainiks walked to platform number 5 carrying saffron flags with pictures of Lord Ram and the party’s ‘bow and arrow’ election symbol printed on them. He also displayed placards with photographs of late Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray.
Shinde carried flags and placards for some distance, and entered the bogies of the train and greeted the passengers on their way to Ayodhya.
According to an itinerary circulated among media persons, the chief minister will leave for Lucknow on the evening of April 8 and visit Ayodhya the next day and perform ‘aarti’ on the banks of river Saryu.
Shinde said on Sunday, “I will visit Ayodhya on April 9 along with ministers, MLAs, MPs and other office bearers of my party.”
Shiv Sena has released a teaser on social media regarding Shinde’s visit to Ayodhya for the first time after becoming the Chief Minister on June 30, 2022 and a short video on his life.
Former Thane mayor and Shiv Sena spokesperson Naresh Mhaske along with some other leaders are camping in the temple town to oversee preparations for Shinde’s visit, which is being seen as a major show of strength by his party Locked in a bitter battle for supremacy. Rival Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray).
Shinde’s visit to Ayodhya, where a grand Ram temple is being built, will be closely watched in political circles in Maharashtra as he seeks to establish himself as the true inheritor of Bal Thackeray’s legacy and reaffirm his Hindutva credentials .
The veteran politician was in the holy city to arrange for the then cabinet minister Aaditya Thackeray’s visit in June 2022, and the visit came just days before his rebellion against the leadership of the undivided Shiv Sena.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)
