Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024: CM Shinde targets Uddhav for 'giving up' Bal Thackeray's principles for power

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Maharashtra Chief Minister (CM) Eknath Shinde on Tuesday hit out at Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray for "abandoning" the principles of the Shiv Sena founder, and claimed that the Maha Vikas Aghadi government had been formed against the people's wishes.

According to news agency PTI, Shinde was speaking at a campaign rally in Satara in support of Shambhuraj Desai ahead of the November 20 Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024. During the rally, the CM also said that the higher "strike rate" of the Shiv Sena led by him in the Lok Sabha polls proved "whose Shiv Sena is the real one".

"Some people abandoned the principles of Bal Thackeray," Shinde said, taking a swipe at the former CM and the late Shiv Sena founder's son, who joined hands with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in 2019 to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

"The party was put up for sale, the workers and Shiv Sena were suppressed. Seeing this, the workers got restless. Shambhuraj Desai used to ask me, when should we act [rebel against Thackeray]. I asked him to wait for the right time as the prey should come in sight. Once it comes, we will act," said Shinde who split the Shiv Sena in 2022 and formed a government with the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) support.

According to PTI, Shinde also stated that the MVA government of the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress was formed against the wishes of the people.

During the 2019 Assembly Elections, the Shiv Sena and BJP contested together with photos of Bal Thackeray and Prime Minister Narendra Modi featuring prominently during the campaign, he said.

'We didn't leave Shiv Sena; we stayed and rescued the party, its symbol'

"But after the elections, you [Uddhav] went with the Congress. Balasaheb would have never accepted this, and that was why we took this step," said Shinde, referring to the rebellion.

He and his supporters did not leave the Shiv Sena, asserted Shinde, who was a minister in the Thackeray-led MVA government until his rebellion.

"We did not leave the Shiv Sena; we stayed, rescued the party, saved its bow-and-arrow symbol, and succeeded," he added.

According to PTI, the CM claimed that more and more people were joining his party. "Our strike rate in the Lok Sabha elections was higher than that of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray). We fought on 13 seats and won seven, which shows whose Shiv Sena is real."

In the Lok Sabha elections, Shiv Sena (UBT) contested on 21 seats and won nine.

Shinde averred that his Shiv Sena will never give up Bal Thackeray's principles for power.

A fake narrative that the Constitution will be changed if the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) retained power was spread during the Lok Sabha polls, he said.

"One can win elections by spreading a fake narrative only once, it will not work this time as people know the truth," CM Shinde said.

The Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 will be held on November 20 and the counting of votes will be three days later.

(With PTI inputs)