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Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
2 Sena (UBT) leaders out of party in one day
MUMBAI: Ahead of the local body polls, the defection from the Shiv Sena (UBT) is continuing apace. On Wednesday, two key leaders exited the party: Nashik leader Sudhakar Badgujar who was expelled by Uddhav Thackeray, and Chandrahar Patil, who is set to join the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. Significantly, Thackeray had risked the alliance with the Congress during the Lok Sabha polls to ensure that Patil was the MVA candidate from Sangli. Badgujar was expelled on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after he began showing signs of rebellion. The announcement of his expulsion was dramatic, made in a press conference by district chief D G Suryawanshi after Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut called the party leaders addressing the press conference and informed them about the decision to expel Badgujar. It all began on Monday when Badgujar—till recently known as a close aide of Raut and appointed as the party's state level deputy leader—met Devendra Fadnavis, who was on a Nashik tour. The next day, Badgujar launched an attack on the Sena (UBT) leadership by expressing displeasure about the recent restructuring in the party. 'It's not just me—more than 10 leaders in Nashik are upset with the new appointments in the party organisations,' he said, fuelling speculation about major defections from the Thackeray-led party. It was against this backdrop that Shiv Sena (UBT) Nashik district chief Suryavanshi, along with other office-bearers, addressed a press conference and claimed that there was no unhappiness in the party over the new appointments. But even as the press conference was on, former district chief Datta Gaikwad received a phone call from Sanjay Raut, telling him about Badgujar's expulsion from the party. Suryavanshi announced this promptly. Reacting to his expulsion, Badgujar said, 'It's unfortunate that I have been expelled from the party for revealing the unrest in the party over a new appointment. Not only me, other leaders were too unhappy with the decision of the party leadership.' There is speculation that Badgujar will join the BJP, and some other leaders from Nashik will join the Shinde-led Sena. Chandrahar Patil, on the other hand, jolted the Sena (UBT) with a public announcement on social media. 'I have an offer from Dy CM Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena to join the party. At present I am out of town and will decide on joining Shinde after consulting my supporters soon,' he said in his post on X. Shiv Sena leader and minister Sanjay Shirsat claimed that Chandrahar Patil would soon leave Thackeray and join Shinde. Patil was inducted into the party by Sanjay Raut, and insisted on contesting the Sangli Lok Sabha seat despite the party having no strength in Sangli and the Congress having better opportunities. Uddhav Thackeray had made the election a prestige issue although the seat was eventually won by Congress rebel Vishal Patil while Chandrahar Patil finished a poor third.
Hindustan Times
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Will blacken Rahul's face for insulting Savarkar, says Sena (UBT) leader in Nashik
MUMBAI: A Nashik leader of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) on Wednesday threatened to blacken Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's face for insulting Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar on his next visit to the city. 'Rahul Gandhi used abusive language for Swatantrya Veer Savarkar, and the case is filed against him in Nashik. We will not tolerate Savarkar's insult,' Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Nashik city unit deputy chief Bala Darade said on the sidelines of a function to mark VD Savarkar's birth anniversary on Wednesday. 'Rahul Gandhi will soon need to visit Nashik to appear before the court in this case. When he comes, we will blacken Rahul Gandhi's face, and if we can't reach there, we will throw stones at him,' the Sena leader said. One of the cases that Rahul Gandhi faces for his comments on Savarkar is in Nashik, where a resident filed a case against him. Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal said Congress will not tolerate such language for Rahul Gandhi. 'Rahul Gandhi did not use any abusive words for Savarkar but only quoted some facts. We will not tolerate such threats to him,' said Sapkal. Atul Londhe, spokesperson of the Congress's state unit, said Darade's remarks were part of a conspiracy engineered by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), adding that he hoped Uddhav Thackeray would act against Darade, who had crossed the line to attack the leader of an alliance partner. Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sushma Andhare distanced the party from Darade's comments. Andhare told reporters that Darade's views were his own and not the official stand of the Uddhav Thackeray-led party. But the Thackeray-led Sena has long been uncomfortable over Gandhi's repeated attacks on Savarkar. On December 17, 2024, Aaditya Thackeray called for moving beyond debates on historical figures and focusing on pressing developmental issues. 'The BJP and Congress must stop wasting time discussing Nehru and Savarkar,' he said, asserting that both leaders made their contribution to history and the country needed to focus on development.
Time of India
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
BMC being run by CM office, says Aaditya; Shinde defends civic performance
Mumbai: With BMC polls looming, the Opposition attacked the BJP and deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde for the chaos in the city after Monday's heavy downpour. SS (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray pointed out that the civic corporation was being run by an administrator who was directly under the control of the CM and deputy CM as local body polls had not been held. "The BMC is being run by the chief minister's office and the urban development department (led by Shinde) because no polls have been held. The rains have revealed the BJP's corruption. The city cannot trust the BJP because then the state of the Gokhale bridge will be repeated across the city," he alleged. "Shinde lied when he said Mumbai would be pot-hole free in two years. He only filled the holes in his own pockets," Thackeray said. "This is not the first spell of rain this season. We have been saying for the last two months that nullah safai has not been done properly," he said. Meanwhile, Mumbai Congress chief Varsha Gaikwad said on X, "After the first rain, Mumbai has come to a standstill. It has been held to ransom by this corrupt regime and its contractor friends." NCP-SP MLA Jitendra Awhad said, "When his (Uddhav) party was in power, some of the leaders who are now in the ruling party used to cry hoarse questioning Thackeray's absence during water logging in Mumbai. Why have they gone silent now?" State culture minister Ashish Shelar from the BJP, hit back at the SS (UBT) saying the Thackeray-led Sena had been in power in the BMC for decades and established a nexus with corrupt contractors. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trade Bitcoin & Ethereum – No Wallet Needed! IC Markets Start Now Undo Shelar said Thackeray was angry because the Mahayuti govt had cracked down on fixers and the contractor cartel. Aaditya Thackeray was "enjoying in a foreign country" when members of the government were checking nullahs, he added. "For 25 years, UBT Sena and BMC contractors looted Mumbai. They looted Rs 3 lakh crores spent by the BMC on Mumbai roads. The UBT Sena did not complete BRIMSTOWAD work to prevent Mumbai from flooding," Shelar said on X. Meanwhile, Shinde and state disaster management minister Girish Mahajan visited the BMC headquarters to assess the situation. Defending BMC's performance, Shinde said the monsoon usually sets in after June 10 in the city. The early onset brought over 250 mm of rainfall in a single day—five times the expected daily average—resembling a cloudburst. "This led to major disruptions across the city. Although suburban rail services have resumed, BEST buses must be deployed at key railway stations in case of further interruptions. Water logging in low-lying areas has been addressed and the BMC has been instructed to keep these pumps fully operational," he said.
Scroll.in
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Uddhav Sena urges SC to fast-track hearing of election symbol dispute ahead of local body polls
The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) on Wednesday urged the Supreme Court to expedite the hearing of its plea challenging the Election Commission's move to recognize the Eknath Shinde faction as the official party and allot it the bow and arrow symbol, Live Law reported. The party, through its lawyer Kapil Sibal, made the request a day after the court directed that Maharashtra's local body elections be notified in four weeks and completed within four months. He argued that since the court had ordered local body elections to be held, the petition needed to be heard urgently. Sibal cited the Supreme Court's 2023 Constitution Bench judgment, which ruled that a legislative majority alone cannot determine the real party and argued that the Election Commission relied solely on this criterion in the current case. However, Justice Surya Kant noted it might not be possible to hear the matter before the court's vacation, Live Law reported. Kant verbally highlighted that the Shiv Sena (UBT) now has a symbol and asked why it could not contest elections with it. 'Let the elections be held smoothly,' he added. 'You concentrate on that. In local bodies, mostly voters don't support a symbol.' The Shiv Sena had split in June 2022 after then-Chief Minister Eknath Shinde claimed the support of 39 out of the Shiv Sena's 55 MLAs, in addition to 10 independent MLAs, and rebelled against Thackeray's Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition. The Shiv Sena, the then-united Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress were allies in the government. Shinde went on to dislodge the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra government, becoming chief minister with the support of Bharatiya Janata Party, Both factions have since then contested who represents the real Shiv Sena. In 2023, the Election Commission of India handed over the official name and election symbol – the bow and arrow – of the Shiv Sena to the Shinde faction. The poll panel had said that 40 MLAs backing Shinde got nearly 76% of the votes polled in favour of the 55 Shiv Sena candidates who had won their seats in the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly polls. On the other hand, the Uddhav Thackeray faction's 15 MLAs got 23.5% of the votes polled. In January 2024, Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar also held that the group of MLAs headed by Shinde constituted the real Shiv Sena when rival factions of the political party emerged in June 2022. The Thackeray-led Sena has since had a new election symbol – the mashal, or torch.
