Mumbai: They might have been at loggerheads over the control of the party (Shiv Sena) and the state (Maharashtra), but on his predecessor Uddhav Thackeray’s 62nd birthday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde extended his wishes. On Wednesday, Shinde tweeted: “Greetings to former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on his birthday. I pray for his healthy and long life.” The Chief Minister in his message refrained from referring to Thackeray as the Shiv Sena president.
Happy Birthday to Hon’ble Shri Uddhavji Thackeray, Former Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Let them live a long and healthy life, pray at the feet of mother Jagdamba…. — Eknath Shinde – Eknath Shinde (@mieknathshinde) July 27, 2022
Last month, Shinde – along with 39 other Shiv Sena MLAs and 10 independents – revolted against the party leadership, leading to the collapse of the Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government. Recently, 12 out of the 19 Shiv Sena Lok Sabha members also extended support to the Shinde camp. Shinde recently formed a national executive of his faction, claiming it to be the real Shiv Sena. The Thackeray-led Sena and the Shinde group are locked in a legal battle over pleas seeking disqualification of 16 rebel legislators and also over claim for the party’s symbol with the Election Commission of India.
Meanwhile, Uddhav Thackeray ahead of his birthday had compared rebel party leaders to “rotten leaves” of a tree and said let there be elections to make it clear whether people support him on the rebel faction. In his first interview with Sena’s mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ after stepping down as the chief minister last month, Thackeray said it was a mistake that he trusted some of the party leaders too much.
Thackeray was interviewed by Saamana executive editor and Shiv Sena’s Rajya Sabha MP, Sanjay Raut, in a studio. Without naming Sena rebel and Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde, Thackeray said that some people are comparing themselves with Balasaheb Thackeray, which shows “monstrous ambition and greed (for power)”.
Thackeray said the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) of Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and Congress wouldn’t have come into existence had his demand (for the CM’s post on rotation) been met by the BJP at that time. The Shiv Sena and BJP fell out after the 2019 assembly elections over the issue of the post of the chief minister, which Thackeray claimed was promised on a rotation basis to Sena by BJP leadership.