Fadnavis rejects Aaditya Thackeray’s claim of 22 Shinde Sena MLAs joining BJP

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday rejected Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena MLA Aaditya Thackeray’s claim that 22 MLAs from the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena will join the BJP soon.

Talking to the media, he rejected Aaditya Thackeray’s claims as “baseless” adding that “mere statements carried no weight”.

Advertisement

“Just saying something doesn’t help. If such claims are being made, I too can claim that 20 of Aaditya Thackeray’s MLAs are ready to join the BJP. Shinde-led Sena MLAs are our allies, and they are the real Shiv Sena. The BJP does not engage in divisive politics,” he said.

Fadnavis maintained that the BJP-led Mahayuti ruling alliance would emerge stronger despite the controversy.

Incidentally, Aaditya Thackeray’s statement came in the midst of an ongoing tussle about the appointment of the Leader of the Opposition, intensifying unease within the ruling coalition.

Earlier, Aaditya Thackeray had claimed that 22 MLAs of the Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena who have received significant funds over the past few months, are now “dancing to the tunes” of Fadnavis.

Aaditya Thackeray also claimed that Fadnavis is concerned about the emergence of “two opposition leaders” from within his own coalition.

However, responding strongly to Aaditya Thackeray’s claims, Eknath Shinde-led Sena leader and Minister for Social Justice Sanjay Shirsat said, “Uddhav and Aaditya Thackeray should first take care of their 20 MLAs before pointing fingers at us. Uddhav Thackeray’s 13 MLAs are in touch with me.

“I have the names of all these MLAs. I will reveal their names when the time is right. These 13 Uddhav Thackeray MLAs have expressed their intention to join the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde, after getting fed up with the way Uddhav Thackeray’s party works”.

Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena MLA Nilesh Rane mocked Aaditya Thackeray’s claims saying, “Has Aaditya Thackeray started astrology business? He has started making predictions about everything”.

In a related development, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde announced that both Shinde-led Sena as well as the BJP will contest the Maharashtra municipal elections jointly as a grand alliance. Senior BJP leaders Chandrashekhar Bawankule and Ravindra Chavan were also present during the announcement.

Both the ruling parties have decided to jointly contest the municipal elections across Maharashtra, including Mumbai and Thane, as part of a grand alliance, and discussions between local leaders of both the parties will begin within the next two to three days.