Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Nitesh Rane slammed Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut saying that his importance in Maharashtra politics is now over.

“The gulam who is sitting at Silver Oak with Sharad Pawar is calling other gulam. The NCP who used to give salary to Sanjay Raut has now joined the NDA govt, which means Sanjay Raut’s importance in Maharashtra politics is now over,” Nitesh Rane said. “The ones with whom they were with the MVA and at Patna have told now asked him to keep shut. So who is there to listen to him?” Rane added.

Speaking about the equations between the Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena and the Congress, Rane said that they were never on good terms and it was the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) which was running the alliance.
“The Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena and the Congress were never on good terms. Their business was running on the NCP. Now when NCP has come with NDA, Uddhav Thackery, Aaditya Thackeray, Sanjay Raut have become politically unemployed. They have lost their relevance today because they depended on Sharad Pawar,” Rane said.

Speaking on the future of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance in Maharashtra, the BJP MLA said that the MVA is officially over. “MVA is over from now on because the NCP has now come with the BJP and Shiv Sena. The time has come to say ‘Rest in Peace’ to MVA,” he said.

On the new Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly, Nitesh Rane said that the position should go to the Congress and it may be the same situation in the Maharashtra Vidhan Parishad as well.

“The Leader of Opposition will be with the Congress. Even in the Vidhan Parishad it is not sure how long will Ambadal Danve stay on the same role. In coming times, the Vidhan Parishad Leader of Opposition position will also go to the Congress,” he said.

Earlier on Monday, Sanjay Raut reiterated his claim that NCP leader Ajit Pawar who was sworn in as the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra a day ago would soon replace Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Raut also said that 16 MLAs who were part of the split in Shiv Sena almost a year ago are going to be “disqualified”.

“Today I am saying this in front of the camera, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra is going to change. Eknath Shinde is being removed. Eknath Shinde and the 16 MLAs are going to be disqualified,” Raut said while talking to ANI.

In a surprise move on Sunday, NCP leader Ajit Pawar who was also the Maharashtra Leader of Opposition joined the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance in Maharashtra and took oath as Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister.

This changed political equations in the state ahead of Lok Sabha and assembly polls next year and has ramifications for national politics. The move by NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s nephew Ajit Pawar, which also saw eight other NCP MLAs joining the Shinde-Fadnavis government, came amid efforts by opposition parties to forge unity to take on the BJP in the next year’s Lok Sabha polls. Sharad Pawar, a former Maharashtra Chief Minister, has been a key leader in opposition unity efforts.