New Delhi: In a fresh setback for Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena faction, about 66 corporators from Thane civic body on Thursday jumped ship and joined the rebel Eknath Shinde camp, which has been projecting itself as the ‘real inheritor’ of Balasaheb Thackeray’s legacy as it claims that it is they who are taking forward the Hindutva politics that the Sena founder envisioned & worked for.
The switch-over of 66 corporators from Uddhav camp to Shinde camp happens months before the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections. According to reports, out of 67 Sena corporators, 66 have rebelled against Uddhav leadership and switched their loyalties. With this, Uddhav has almost lost control over Thane Municipal body. Thane is seen as the most important civic body after the BMC.
After the revolt by more than 40 Sena MLAs led by Eknath Shinde, the Shiv Sena stands deeply weakened and faces an uphill task in rebuilding itself. With 40 out of 55 MLAs snapping ties with the real Shiv Sena, the Uddhav faction has almost lost grip over the party. Not just the MahaAghadi government got toppled but the Sena lost its legislators and is now staring at yet another looming crisis where it could lose its party symbol.
The trouble within the Shiv Sena is far from over. The loyalists of Uddhav and Shinde are sparring over party’s ‘bow & arrow’ symbol as both of them insist that they are the real Shiv Sena.
Reports also suggest that the party is split over its Parliamentarians. The Shiv Sena has a total of 18 MPs in the Parliament and out of them, only 7-8 are said to have shown allegiance to Uddhav Thackeray. Recently, a rebel Sena MLA Gulabrao Patil claimed that in days ahead, about a dozen Sena MPs will join the Shinde camp.
