Sanjay Shirsat, Maharashtra’s Minister for Social Justice, shared his thoughts on the idea of the two Shiv Sena parties merging once again after the leaders of both parties were seen together in a photo this month.
Speaking at the Mahja Katta program, the minister said that it would not be right to comment on the matter today and that the split between the two parties (Shiv Sena and Shiv Sena-UBT) has widened a lot. Shirsat said that the tradition of politics in Maharashtra involves an incoming and outgoing in every party, and that is an unstoppable cycle. He added, “Whatever happens to us tomorrow will depend on Eknath Shinde’s decision.”
Shirsat also said that the Shiv Sena party split due to Uddhav Thackeray not listening to his party members. According to him, Uddhav Thackeray treated his party members like an army and did not care if any of the members left. He added that he was happy that the Thackeray brothers had come together, especially on the Marathi issue.
The minister said that he did not know what would happen to the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi or whether Raj Thackeray would agree to campaign and support Congress.
Ambadas Danve regarding the merging of the Shiv Sena factions
The comments by Shirsat were an answer to thoughts expressed earlier this week by the Leader of Opposition Ambadas Danve, Thackeray’s ally, on Mahja Katta. Danve had stated that he was sorry the Shiv Sena parties split up and expressed his hope that they would come together. "It always bothered me that someone broke our strong organisation. Now the state should see the united strength of Shiv Sena. What's wrong with holding onto that hope?" he said. After the Shiv Sena split, Danve had chosen to remain with the Uddhav Thackeray faction.
However, his comments come at a time when clout is around how the two cousins, Raj Thackeray (Maharashtra Navnirman Sena) and Uddhav Thackeray, have reunited. Even senior politicians from the ruling Mahayuti alliance have shared their best wishes for the cousins and expressed hope for the parties merging.
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Earlier this month, things got awkward when Uddhav Thackeray, who arrived a bit late, was made to sit close to Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in a photograph taken at Danve's farewell ceremony as the leader of the opposition. The two were barely able to make eye contact, despite having only the Deputy leader of Shiv Sena, Neelam Gorhe, between them.
In 2022, the ruling Shiv Sena had split after Eknath Shinde walked out with 40 MLAs and challenged the then party leader and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. The split caused the Maha Vikas Aghadi government to fall apart and led to Tackeray's resignation. Shinde then joined hands with the BJP and was Chief Minister for the next two and a half years.
