Thane: In a setback to the Shiv Sena group led by Uddhav Thackeray, 66 of the 67 former party councilors of the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) have extended support to the faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The tenure of the 131-member TMC, which has been a stronghold of the Shiv Sena, ended sometime back and elections are about to be held.
A release from Shinde’s office said that 66 former councilors of Shiv Sena, led by former mayor Naresh Mhaske, met CM Shinde at his ‘Nandanvan’ bungalow in Mumbai on Wednesday night and extended their support.
Last month, Shinde had launched a rebellion against the Shiv Sena and was supported by most of the party’s MLAs, leading to the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government in the state.
Shinde took oath as the Chief Minister on June 30. And Devendra Fadnavis of BJP was sworn in as Deputy CM.