Highlight
- 40 out of 55 Shiv Sena MLAs have joined the rebel camp led by Chief Minister Shinde.
- Deepak Kesarkar also targeted Shiv Sena MP and Chief Spokesperson Sanjay Raut
- The MLAs had urged Thackeray to break ties with the NCP and Congress and form an alliance with the BJP.
Uddhav Thackeray News: The rebel Shiv Sena MLAs have forged an alliance with the BJP in Maharashtra and if there is any possibility of reconciliation with the parent party, Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray should speak to a party colleague, a spokesperson of the dissident faction said on Thursday. Said to
Deepak Kesarkar, speaking to the media on behalf of the rebel faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, also targeted Shiv Sena MP and chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut without naming him.
In a veiled reference to Raut, who has been making harsh remarks against the rebel MLAs, Kesarkar said that Thackeray should “set aside” those responsible for the rebellion in the party.
“We and the BJP have come together. So now there is a new family. If we have to go back to the old family, we are not alone. BJP is with us. When he (Thackeray) calls us, he also has to talk to the BJP and bless us.
He was replying to a question whether the rebel group would go back to the original party if former CM Thackeray was asked to do so.
40 out of 55 Shiv Sena MLAs have joined the rebel camp led by Chief Minister Shinde. The MLAs had urged Thackeray to break ties with the NCP and Congress and forge an alliance with the BJP.
The NCP and Congress were part of the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, which fell last month after a section of Shiv Sena legislators rebelled against the party leadership. Shiv Sena severed ties with its longtime ally BJP and joined hands with NCP and Congress in November 2019.
On June 30, Shinde was sworn in as the new CM with the deputy of BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis.