Senior Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi, who was booed off the dais at the party's Dussehra rally by Sainiks, who were angry at his utterances against party chief Uddhav Thackeray's leadership style, today left Mumbai.
On Friday, at the public meet in Dadar, J oshi had raised doubts over Uddhav’s leadership, when he questioned the lack of aggression Uddhav had shown over the issue of Bal Thackeray’s memorial. These comments had earned Joshi the ire of several party workers and leaders alike.
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Joshi shown the door at Sena rally
Joshi has left Mumbai and will be back in six days, sources said.
It was not known whether the former Lok Sabha Speaker, a regular fixture at the party's annual Dussehra rallies at Shivaji Park all these years, had left for his village Nandvi in coastal Konkan.
At the rally yesterday, Uddhav and his son Aditya had tried to pacify the agitated Sainiks raising anti-Joshi slogans. Uddhav's wife Rashmi even ventured into the assembly to calm down the workers. However, Joshi finally left the venue.
In his speech, Uddhav did not mention the incident or refer to the memorial of the late party chief Balasaheb Thackeray, on which Joshi had criticised him, in his address.
However, Uddhav said he would not work under pressure and that the Sainiks were the final arbiters of his position as Sena president.
"If you feel that I have lost your confidence, I will step down," he said.