08 May,2024 05:00 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Sanjay Raut/ Screengrab
During a major election rally in Thane, Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders claimed that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde considered joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in June 2022 out of fear of imprisonment, but the united party dismissed his request.
According to MP Sanjay Raut and Lok Sabha Elections 2024 candidate Rajan Vichare, Shinde voiced concerns about being investigated by the CBI-ED and believed that joining the BJP would provide him with safety. When asked for more information, Shinde remained cryptic, reported IANS.
The IANS report stated that Raut emphasised that Shinde's fear of imprisonment influenced political actions, particularly the schism within the Shiv Sena that resulted in Uddhav Thackeray's dismissal as CM of the Maha Vikas Aghadi.
"On June 14, 2022, Shinde spoke with me, saying that 'it would be better to join the BJP and PM Narendra Modi'. He said he was not keen on going to jail," claimed Sanjay Raut.
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According to the IANS report, Raut, while referring to the vertical split in Shiv Sena in June 2022 which toppled the Maha Vikas Aghadi government led by Uddhav Thackeray, said, "When I said that the ED-CBI will not just start probing unless they have something in hand, he did not specifyâ¦; and all the political developments followed."
Vichare revealed Shinde's history of attempting to switch parties, citing a failed attempt in 2013 when he planned to defect to the Congress with four Shiv Sena MLAs. Despite previous failures, Shinde succeeded in splitting Shiv Sena after ten years, the IANS report added.
"However, at the last minute, the four SS legislators reneged and the plan collapsed. Look at his track record as a destroyer and party-breaker⦠Shinde has earlier broken up the party units in Thane, then the Shiv Sena, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party, etc," said Vichare.
The rally was attended by various political leaders. Per the news agency report, the leaders present were Priyanka Chaturvedi, Jyoti Thackeray, Anand Dubey, Sena (UBT)'s UP leader Brijesh Tiwari, Congress' Amin Qureshi, Vikrant Chavan, NCP (SP)'s Suhas Desai, Aam Aadmi Party's Dhananjay Shinde and others.
