'Congress Never Broke Shiv Sena Like BJP Did': Uddhav Thackarey
- 17 hours ago
- 2 min read
New Delhi, June 21: Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday said his party fought the Congress for 30 years, but the latter never tried to poach his MPs, unlike the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Hours later, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said, "I never leave an operation incomplete," when asked about "Operation Tiger", reportedly aimed at securing defections from the Uddhav Thackeray camp. "The operation is successful," he added.
Thackeray's remarks came after rebel Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Nagesh Patil Ashtikar on Sunday confirmed his crossover to Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena. The MP said, "I, and some other MPs (of Sena-UBT), had not made any decision until June 18. We had not gone anywhere".
"However, certain remarks were made against us since Thursday, which made us believe there was no point in staying here (Sena-UBT)." it added.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah had also remarked that the only Shiv Sena is the one headed by Eknath Shinde.
"Shiv Sena, headed by me, is the only Shiv Sena," said Thackeray, whose father, Balasaheb
Thackeray, founded the party in 1966. For decades, the undivided Shiv Sena was allied with the BJP. However, the two parties parted ways in 2019, following which Shiv Sena formed the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government with its political rivals—the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
In 2022, the party suffered a major setback that significantly reduced its strength in the Assembly. Claiming loyalty to Balasaheb Thackeray's ideology, Eknath Shinde broke away with 40 of the 56 MLAs from Uddhav Thackeray's camp and aligned with the BJP.
MPs Sanjay Dina Patil, Sanjay Deshmukh, Sanjay Jadhav, Bhausaheb Wakchaure, Nagesh Patil-Ashtikar and Nimbalkar skipped the Sena (UBT) parliamentary party meeting in Delhi on June 17, fuelling speculation that they were headed to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
