Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday took a swipe at Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray for his statement that the monsoon session beginning June 27 will be the farewell session of the MahaYuti government.

“Shouldn’t he (Uddhav Thackeray) be in the House to give a farewell? Or will he say goodbye from a Facebook Live? The people will decide whether to bid a farewell,” Shinde said, asserting that those sitting in the government are connected to the people and have done a slew of works for their betterment.

The obvious reference was Uddhav Thackeray’s regular use of Facebook Live during the Maha Vikas Aghadi government’s tenure, instead of coming to the Mantralaya.

Shinde, who chaired the state Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, also criticised the opposition for its move to boycott the customary tea meeting convened by him on the eve of the monsoon session.

“This is the last session of the present state Assembly. So we thought that the opposition would come and discuss a range of issues during the tea meeting. However, they gave a letter mentioning the same issues, which the government will reply to in the House. The opposition is confused,” claimed Shinde.

“The opposition may have got momentary happiness after the Lok Sabha elections, but despite all the attacks, Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister for the third time,” the Chief Minister said, as he reiterated that the opposition spread a fake narrative that changes will be made in the Constitution and reservation policies.

‘’Despite spreading such fake narratives, Congress got only 99 seats and the party will need another 25 years to win 240 seats,” he said.

“The Shiv Sena and the Uddhav Thackeray camp were pitted against each other in 13 seats, of which we won seven seats. Of the total 19 per cent votes, bow & arrow (Sena symbol) got 14.50 per cent. So what did the Thackeray cam get,” Shinde asked.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:

The Sena versus Sena battle heated up on the occasion of the Shiv Sena foundation day as Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde held parallel programmes in two parts of Mumbai. And from Sion’s Shanmukhanand Hall, Uddhav Thackeray, powered by the people’s support, issued an open challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Modi-ji I invite you to start campaign for assembly election in Maharashtra… it will be you versus me,” he said, pointing to the election due by year-end.

“My message to the BJP — try winning an election without using my original symbol. I am proud that we did not use anyone else’s picture. We will never use either, especially of PM Modi. I challenge PM Modi to start preparations today – keeping this fake Shiv Sena away,” he added.

Mr Thackeray also rubbished speculation about the two Sena factions joining hands and remaining in the NDA fold. He would never go with those who tried to “finish off” his party, Mr Thackeray said.

Though the rebel faction led by Eknath Shinde was awarded the name and election symbol of the undivided Shiv Sena by the Election Commission, the voters had decisively settled the legacy issue. And they did not agree with the poll body.

The Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena won nine seats and the Shinde faction seven.

The other party in the same boat,  the Sharad Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party, won eight seats. The faction led by his nephew Ajit Pawar — which also got the name and party symbol from the Election Commission — only one.

Ally Congress won 13 seats.

The people’s disapproval of the political upheaval in the state extended to the BJP, which, Mr Shinde once let slip, had engineered the Sena split. The party’s score was cut down to nine seats, from 23 in 2019 .

But Chief Minister Eknath Shinde remained determined to push the point he based his rebellion on — that Mr Thackeray had strayed from the ideology set down by Sena founder and his father Balasaheb Thackeray.

“Where has your Hindutva gone? You have no right to seek votes in Balasaheb Thackeray’s name,” he said at a massive rally in Worli’s NSCI dome.  “Even a small kid will tell you that the Shiv Sena UBT won because of the Congress’ vote bank. Those who left Bal Thackeray’s thoughts for position, lost in the election. Bal Thackeray always talked against the Congress,” he added.

But Mr Thackeray had already covered the point.

“We got votes of all patriots, people of all religions. They said we left Hindutva, because we went with the Congress. I did not leave Hindutva. If everyone voted for us to save the country and the constitution, then people are with us. It shows the BJP is the one that left Hindutva,” Mr Thackeray said.

Mumbai:

Amid the row over news reports claiming that the phone of a Shiv Sena candidate’s aide was connected to an EVM during counting of votes in Mumbai’s North West Lok Sabha seat, leaders of NDA and INDIA bloc in Maharashtra are trading barbs.

Ravindra Waitkar, a leader of Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena won the Mumbai North West seat by a margin of just 48 votes. The runner-up was Amol Kirtikar from Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray). The Thackery-led faction bagged nine Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, while Mr Shinde’s Sena got seven.

Soon after the news reports emerged, leaders of Uddhav Thackeray’s party demanded that the CCTV footage of counting day be released.

The Election Commission has trashed the news reports and issued notices to the publishers.

Vandana Suryavanshi, returning officer of Mumbai North West, said an EVM was a standalone system and there was no need for an OTP to unlock it. “It is not programmable and has no wireless communication capabilities. It is a lie being spread by a newspaper,” she told the media.

The poll official, however, admitted that the personal mobile phone of one Dinesh Gurav, data entry operator of Jogeshwari assembly constituency, was found with an unauthorised person — Mr Waitkar’s brother-in-law Mangesh Pandilkar — and action is being taken. “Data entry and vote counting are two different aspects. An OTP enables the ARO to open the encore login system for data entry. The counting process is independent and has nothing to do with unauthorised use of mobile phone, which is an unfortunate incident and is being probed,” she added.

The official said that neither Mr Waikar nor Mr Kirtikar had sought a recount of votes. She added that CCTV footage cannot be given without court orders.

Aaditya Thackeray, Uddhav Thackeray’s son and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader, said the Election Commission lacks the courage to release the CCTV footage of the counting centre. “We have always had suspicions about this regime tampering with EVMs. Even Elon Musk has expressed his views, claiming everything can be hacked. Despite several requests, the Election Commission does not have the courage to release the CCTV footage of the counting day that would support our claims,” Mr Thackeray said.

Team Thackeray also got support from its ally Congress. Senior Congress leader and former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said the poll result of Mumbai North West Lok Sabha seat must be stayed. The Election Commission, he said, must call a meeting of all parties and discuss this issue thoroughly. “There must be a probe into the unauthorised used of the mobile phone. The FIR report has not been made public,” he added.

The political row over the news reports on the Mumbai North West seat was fuelled by a social media remark by X boss and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Responding to a post on Puerto Rico elections, Musk wrote, “We should eliminate electronic voting machines. The risk of being hacked by humans or AI, while small, is still too high.”

The remark drew a sharp response from BJP leader and former Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar. Saying that while Musk’s view may apply to other places where voting machines are connected to the Internet, the BJP leader said EVMs in India are secure and isolated from any network and “there is no way in”.

Opposition parties, however, latched on to Elon Musk’s remark to question the EVM method. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said EVMs in India “are a ‘black box’ and nobody is allowed to scrutinize them”. “Serious concerns are being raised about transparency in our electoral process. Democracy ends up becoming a sham and prone to fraud when institutions lack accountability,” he said, while sharing Musk’s post and a news report on Ravindra Waitkar’s election.

Akhilesh Yadav, Samajwadi Party chief and a Congress ally, shared Musk’s post with a note: “Technology is to remove problems, if they become a cause of problems, their use must be stopped.”

Mr Gandhi’s remarks on EVMs drew a response from Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who said the Congress leader must resign and contest the polls again if he does not trust EVMs.

“Rahul Gandhi has won from two places. The same EVM was kept there also, so he should say that the EVM machine was faulty everywhere and he should resign and contest the election again,” he said. “According to him, where they get good seats, the EVMs are fine, and where they get fewer seats, the EVMs are faulty. Will this happen?,” Mr Shinde added.

The Shiv Sena leader, whose mutiny against Uddhav Thackeray split the party and toppled the Sena-NCP-Congress government in Maharashtra, questioned the Opposition’s stance on EVMs.

“Wherever the Maha Vikas Aghadi has won, there the EVM machine has functioned correctly. But wherever they lose, they are (opposition) raising objections on the machine. What kind of behaviour is this?,” he said.

Mumbai:

NCP founder Sharad Pawar has “thanked” Prime Minister Narendra Modi after Maharashtra’s opposition alliance, the Maha Vikas Aghadi – consisting of his party, ex-Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena faction, and the Congress – won 30 of the state’s 48 Lok Sabha seats in this election.

Mr Pawar – who lost the NCP symbol and name to the group led by nephew Ajit Pawar, the Deputy Chief Minister after allying with the BJP and the Sena breakaways, led by eventual the Chief Minister, Eknath Shinde – said, “We thank PM Narendra Modi for making the political atmosphere conducive for the MVA.”

The jibe comes amid inquests, public and private, into the BJP’s dismal showing in Maharashtra, in which it won 23 seats in 2019 and only nine this time. In fact, data suggests Mr Modi and BJP did not win 15 of 18 seats in which it campaigned widely. The three were Mumbai North (Union Minister Piyush Goyal) and North West (Ravindra Waikar from the Shinde Sena), and Satara (BJP’s Udayanraje Bhonsale).

The rest, including Beed, Latur, Nashik, Mumbai North East, and Pune, went to the MVA parties.

Mr Pawar’s NCP finished with eight seats and Ajit Pawar’s NCP managed just one.

Thackeray Defies Buzz Over MP Switches

Meanwhile, Mr Thackeray – buoyed by a strong election, in which his Sena faction won nine seats and the breakaway group seven – left the door open to lawmakers who jumped ship two years ago, triggering his resignation and fall of his coalition government. He also said lawmakers who stayed loyal after the Sena split in 2022 will stay, amid rumours at least two newly elected MPs could jump ship to his rival’s camp.

READ | 2 Team Uddhav MPs Are In Touch With Eknath Shinde: Shiv Sena Leader

“All those who supported me will stay (and) we will think about those who want to join us. I will not take anyone’s name… but, after the election, Ram has become BJP-free…” he said.

He also rubbished talk about a reverse switch – he could merge his Sena group with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s ‘original’ and return to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.

READ | On Rumours Of Going Back To NDA, Team Uddhav Says…

The latter set of events would improve the BJP’s position, after it won only 240 seats on its own, 32 short of majority. Even with the support of NDA partners, specifically the JDU and TDP, the BJP is only 21 over the majority mark of 272. For the INDIA bloc, picking up a handful of Shinde Sena MPs won’t allow them to challenge the BJP government, but it would put Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party under stress.

READ | “Modiji’s Era…”: MLA Predicts Thackeray’s Post-Poll BJP U-Turn

Mr Thackeray also took a jibe at the BJP over the Ram Temple in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya, which the latter thought would win it a majority, if not all, of the state’s 80 seats and drive it to its ‘400 paar‘ target.

“After the election, Ram has become BJP-free,” he said.

“Thank You, Maharashtra”, Says Maha Vikas Aghadi

Mr Thackeray, Mr Pawar, and the Congress’ Prithivraj Chavan were addressing a presser to thank voters for the poll results. “This press conference is to express gratitude to the people of Maharashtra. The people voted for the MVA and rejected attempts of religious polarisation,” Mr Chavan said. 

“Recently, a meeting of the three parties was held to prepare for the Assembly election. The way we fought the Lok Sabha election, we will fight the Vidhan Sabha poll,” he continued, “Our victory will be certain and there will be a change of power in the state.”

Mr Thackeray, meanwhile, underlined the fact the current government is no longer run solely by the BJP – which had brute majorities in 2014 and 2019 – but is a coalition.

“It was ‘Modi government’ but now it is ‘NDA government’. How long will it last?” he asked.

READ | In Maharashtra, OGs Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar Stand Tall

He also said the Lok Sabha result in the state had exposed the “myth” of the BJP’s electoral invincibility. “There was an atmosphere in the whole country… everyone thought no one could fight against the BJP. But people of Maharashtra showed this is hollow,” he said.

He also hailed the opposition’s strong showing despite an “economically uneven” battle. “It was a fight to save the Constitution and to save democracy,” the ex-Chief Minister said, “The fight has just begun…”

In the 2024 election the MVA – expected to lose a tight race for Maharashtra’s 48 Lok Sabha seats, the most of any state after Uttar Pradesh’s 80 – surprised many with a thumping win. 

Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar’s parties won 17 seats between themselves. The Congress secured 13, after winning only two in the 2014 election and just one in 2019. By contrast the BJP, which won 23 last time, got nine, and its Sena and NCP allies got eight.

The BJP’s setback, coupled with losses in Uttar Pradesh and Bengal, meant the party fell well short of its ambitious target of 370. The BJP got only 240 – 32 below the majority mark – and needed Nitish Kumar’s JDU and Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP to form the union government.

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Mumbai:

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said on Thursday the BJP has failed to convey a narrative to the people in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. Unemployment and inflation affect everyone, and people are angry about the BJP’s rule of the last ten years, he said in an interview to TV9 Marathi.

“The BJP has not succeeded in communicating any narrative to the people in this election. Its farce of the last ten years is visible to the country,” he said.

To a question about Muslims gravitating towards the Shiv Sena (UBT) since he broke off the ties with the BJP, Mr Thackeray said, “We have not abandoned our Hindutva ideology, and will not do so in future. Our Hindutva is one that helps light the cooking stove in a house, the BJP’s Hindutva is one that burns down a house”.

The BJP has been targeting Mr Thackeray for “abandoning’ his party’s original Hindutva ideology by joining hands with the Congress.

The “Dharavi model” of handling the coronavirus pandemic became popular when he was the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, and he did not discriminate against any community during that period, Mr Thackeray said.

The BJP’s claim of the opposition promoting “vote-Jihad” will not have any effect, he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has understood neither Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray’s Hindutva nor his ideals, Mr Thackeray claimed.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi meet Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange and resolve the issue of reservation for the community.

Mr Thackeray was speaking to reporters here, a day after Mr Jarange launched an indefinite fast in Jalna district over the Maratha quota demand.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in his speech at his party’s Dussehra rally held in Mumbai on Tuesday vowed to provide reservation to the Maratha community by bowing before the bust of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on the dais.

Taking a dig at chief minister Shinde, Mr Thackeray said making a vow and then resorting to delaying tactics was not a way out.

“The government should tell the Maratha quota protesters what is the way out. Why isn’t the government not resolving the issue if there is a way out?” Thackeray asked.

“I welcome the Prime Minister, but he should meet Mr Jarange and resolve the issue of granting reservation to the Maratha community,” the former Maharashtra CM said.

PM Modi was on a visit to Shirdi in Maharashtra on Thursday. He performed puja at the revered Shri Saibaba Samadhi Temple in Shirdi and offered prayers. He later performed the ‘Jal Pujan’ of Nilwande dam, located in Ahmednagar district, and inaugurated the dam’s left bank canal network.

Mr Jarange, who has become the face of the Maratha quota agitation, launched his hunger strike at his native Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district on Wednesday as the 40-day deadline he had set before the Maharashtra government to provide reservation to the community came to an end on October 24.

Expressing disappointment over the state government’s “failure” to take steps for giving reservation to the Maratha community, the 40-year-old activist said he gave ample time to the government and would not wait any longer.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday claimed that Uddhav Thackeray nurtured the ambition to become the CM since 2004 but things didn’t work out.

Addressing the annual Dussehra rally of Shiv Sena led by him at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai, Mr Shinde also disclosed that two persons were sent to NCP chief Sharad Pawar to recommend Thackeray’s name for the post of chief minister.

“It was his (Uddhav’s) wish to become the CM since 2004 but the ‘jugaad’ didn’t work out. He pretended that he was never interested in the post. It was said publicly that he accepted the responsibility (after the 2019 assembly elections) on the advice of Sharad Pawar. But the fact is that two persons were sent to Pawar to recommend his (Uddhav’s) name for the post,” Mr Shinde said.

After the elections, he jumped in the chair of the chief minister, added Mr Shinde, who was a cabinet minister in the erstwhile MVA government led by Mr Thackeray.

“They (Uddhav) wear many masks and do things subtly with a straight face. He became an opportunity for the CM’s post,” charged Mr Shinde.

The MVA government led by Thackeray collapsed in June last year following a rebellion by Mr Shinde and several MLAs.

Eknath Shinde later took oath as the chief minister with the support of the BJP.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday said the country needs a strong government but not of “one party with brute majority”, and batted for a coalition rule.

Speaking at his party’s annual Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park in central Mumbai, he said when the “chair” (of ruler) is unstable, the country becomes strong.

Mr Thackeray, who is part of the Opposition’s INDIA bloc, advocated a “mili-juli sarkar’ (coalition government) which can take everyone along, and cited the examples of governments under Manmohan Singh, P V Narasimha Rao and Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

There was a time when Sena founder and his father late Bal Thackeray said that the country needed a strong government, Uddhav recalled.

“We have seen a strong government for nine years now. Have the issues of the people been resolved? “There should be a strong government, but not of any one party with a brute majority,” he added, targeting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), his friend-turned-foe.

The BJP or (its predecessor) Jana Sangh played no role in any struggle including that for the country’s freedom, Marathwada liberation struggle or the Samyukta (united) Maharashtra movement, the former chief minister claimed.

Attempts were being made to “steal” the Shiv Sena, he said, slamming the rival Sena led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Warning his rivals, Mr Thackeray said, “After we come to power, we will hang upside down those who are harassing us.” Attacking the BJP, Mr Thackeray said his party’s Hindutva was nationalism.

Slamming the Shinde government over the lathi-charge at Maratha protestors in Jalna last month, Thackeray said the Marathas were agitating for quota even when he was chief minister, but he never gave such orders.

Who was the “General Dyer” who ordered lathi-charge in Jalna, he asked.

The issue of reservation for Maratha, Dhangar and other communities can only be resolved by the Centre and Parliament, Thackeray further said.

The BJP creates a rift and then acts as a protector, he alleged.

Slamming Maharashtra assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar over “delay” in disqualifying rebel MLAs of the Shiv Sena, Thackeray said the country was not just watching how the case unfolds. If the speaker did not heed the Supreme Court’s direction (to hear disqualification petitions expeditiously), the people would be watching if an apex court exists in the country or not, he said.

Mr Thackeray also dared the Shinde-led government to hold elections and let people decide whether the rebel MLAs were “qualified or disqualified”.

Seeking to counter the BJP’s attack on dynastic politics, Thackeray said he was proud of his family.

“…a doctor’s son becomes a doctor. We are preserving the legacy of our family… Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud is also preserving the legacy of his family,” he said.

“He (Chandrachud) has occupied the position because of his merit. His father (Y V Chandrachud) too was the chief justice of the country and he was very strict,” Mr Thackeray said.

On the other hand, there were some leaders who came from obscure families and rose to power, Mr Thackeray said, citing the examples of Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Saddam Hussain, Vladimir Putin and Muammar Gaddafi.

Targeting the Maharashtra government over the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project, he asked who will benefit from it.

The high-speed train project was being executed “so that traitors can quickly flee to Gujarat,” he quipped, and alleged that attempts were being made to “loot Mumbai.” All good investments were being diverted from Maharashtra to Gujarat and other states, Mr Thackeray claimed.

The Pakistani team was playing cricket in India when Indian soldiers were being shot at on the India-Pakistan border, the Sena (UBT) chief said.

After the speeches were over, effigies of Ravan and a demon dubbed as “khokasur” were burnt.

The Thackeray-led Sena has often accused the MLAs of the Shinde group of taking `khokas’ (crores of rupees) to switch loyalties which led to the collapse of the Thackeray government in June last year.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday launched a blistering attack on Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray saying he buried the Hindutva ideology of Bal Thackeray for power and joined hands with Congress and socialist parties.

Addressing a massive gathering at the Dussehra rally of Shiv Sena in Azad Maidan, Mr Shinde, without naming Uddhav Thackeray, said he back-stabbed Bal Thackeray by committing dishonesty with his ideological legacy.

Mr Shinde said he won’t be surprised if they (Shiv Sena-UBT) ally with Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM and even “hug terrorist organisations such as Hamas, Hizbul Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Toiba for their selfish motives and chair (power)”.

He also reiterated that the state government is committed to granting quota to Marathas which will stand the legal scrutiny and appealed to youths not to take extreme steps like dying by suicide.

“You have buried the Hindutva ideology of Balasaheb Thackeray by going with Congress and Samajwadis for power. Balasaheb had given ‘Garv se kaho hum Hindu hai’ slogan from ‘Shivtirth’ (Shivaji Park ground) but slogans like ‘Garv se kaho hum Congressi and Samajwadi hai’ are being given from that venue,” Mr Shinde said.

The Shiv Sena faction led by Uddhav Thackeray organised conventional annual Dusshra rally on Shivaji Park ground in Dadar, which the party terms ‘Shivtirth’.

He said the parties who used to target the BJP by questioning the timeline for the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya are feeling embarrassed now.

“They have lost their face. How will they go to Ayodhya now?” he asked.

Before reaching the venue of the rally on Tuesday night, Mr Shinde went to Cross Maidan, also in south Mumbai, to witness Ravan dahan (burning of effigy of Ravan) as part of Ram Leela celebrations.

A large number of people reached Azad Maidan from various parts of the state in buses, trains, and private vehicles.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:

The show of strength between Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his predecessor Uddhav Thackeray on Dussehra day — customary since Shiv Sena split — continued this year too. With months to go before the Lok Sabha elections, the two leaders attacked each other in strong language, “Ravan” and “General Dyer” being some of the invectives used.

“Like Jallianwala Bagh, there was lathicharge on Marathas in the Sarati villages. Eknath Shinde’s government is General Dyer’s government,” Uddhav Thackeray said from the sprawling Shivaji Park in Dadar, the traditional venue of the event. This is where his father and Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray addressed his workers, charging them with fiery oratory.

From Azad Maidan, also in South Mumbai, the Chief Minister compared his political rival to Ravan from Ramayan.  His point — the way Ravan disguised himself as a monk to abduct Sita, Uddhav Thackeray also concealed his desire to be the Chief Minister.

“Uddhav Thackeray wanted to become the Chief Minister, but did not want to show it. It was not allowed to be revealed till the end… Like Ravana disguised himself to kidnap Sita… Uddhav Thackeray had made a pact to become the Chief Minister… Two people were sent to Sharad Pawar to name him (for the post),” he said.

He, in contrast, had “promised Balsaheb that I would make a Shiv Sainik the Chief Minister,” he added.

Mr Shinde further alleged that despite being the son of Balasaheb, Uddhav Thackeray had actually left him to “go to a Five Star”. The reference was to the rains of July 26, 2005, when the whole of Mumbai was flooded. The allegation was that Uddhav Thackeray had checked into a five-star hotel that day. “If he can do this to our father, what will happen to someone else?” he demanded.

The Shiv Sena split in June last year after Mr Shinde and his loyalist MLAs rebelled and pulled down the Maha Vikas Aghadi government led by Uddhav Thackeray. Mr Shinde then formed government with the support of the BJP.

The Uddhav Thackeray faction has since dubbed them “traitors”. The Shinde group claims Mr Thackeray broke the alliance with the BJP and joined hands with the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party after forsaking Hindutva to satisfy his personal ambition to become the Chief Minister.