Pune: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday hit out at Uddhav Thackeray for `abandoning' the principles of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray, and claimed the Maha Vikas Aghadi government had been formed against the people's wishes. Speaking at a campaign rally in Satara in support of Shambhuraj Desai ahead of the November 20 state assembly elections, Shinde also said the higher "strike rate" of the Shiv Sena led by him in the Lok Sabha polls proved `whose Shiv Sena is the real one'.
"Some people abandoned the principles of Bal Thackeray," Shinde said, taking a swipe at Uddhav Thackeray, Bal Thackeray's son, who joined hands with the Congress and NCP in 2019 to form the MVA government.
"The party was put up for sale, Shiv Sena workers and the party were suppressed. Seeing this, the workers got restless. Shambhuraj Desai used to ask me, when should we act (rebel against Thackeray). I asked him to wait for the right time as the prey should come in sight. Once it comes, we will act," said Shinde who split the Shiv Sena in 2022 and formed a government with the BJP's support.
The MVA government of the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress was formed against the wishes of the people, Shinde claimed. The Shiv Sena and BJP contested the 2019 assembly elections together with photos of Bal Thackeray and Prime Minister Narendra Modi featuring prominently during the campaign, he said.
"But after the elections, you (Uddhav) went with Congress. Balasaheb would have never accepted this, and that was why we took this step," said Shinde, who was a minister in the Thackeray-led MVA government until his rebellion. He and his supporters did not leave the Shiv Sena, Shinde asserted.
"We did not leave the Shiv Sena; we stayed, rescued the Shiv Sena, saved its bow-and-arrow symbol, and succeeded," he added. More and more people were joining his party, the chief minister said, adding, "Our strike rate in the Lok Sabha elections was higher than that of the Shiv Sena (UBT). We fought 13 seats and won seven, and it shows whose Shiv Sena is real." The Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena contested 21 seats and won nine.
Shinde averred that his Shiv Sena will never give up Bal Thackeray's principles for power. A fake narrative that the Constitution will be changed if the BJP-led NDA retained power was spread during the Lok Sabha polls, he said. "One can win elections by spreading a fake narrative only once, it will not work this time as people know the truth," the chief minister said.
