Maharashtra civic polls: Big setback for Uddhav after Shinde breakaway
Former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction suffered another setback ahead of the state local body elections, as several party office-bearers and corporators from his faction in Nashik switched to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led rival camp on Friday.
It has come as a shot in the arm for the Shinde faction, which is trying to make some major political gains in the state ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The Shinde faction also succeeded in breaking away some of the NCP corporators, as 30 corporators from the Uddhav camp and other parties, including the NCP, joined the camp in the presence of the chief minister himself in Parbhani.
Nasik surprise for Uddhav
The exit of Uddhav faction leaders assumes great significance at this juncture, as they are counting on the support of the grass-root cadre for support in the upcoming civic polls, particularly in the aftermath of 40 of their 55 MLAs and 13 of their 19 MPs switching loyalty to the Shinde camp.
Much to the chagrin of Uddhav, this has come as a major embarrassment to the party, as his key aide MP Sanjay Raut is on a two-day visit to Nashik. Incidentally, Uddhav too is scheduled to visit Nashik by January-end or early February.
Sounding upbeat, Shinde said many people are joining their party, which in a way, is a vindication of the works being carried out by the new government. He also took the opportunity to justify his decision to walk out of the previous ‘Maha Vikas Aghadi’ (MVA) government led by Uddhav Thackeray.
Interestingly, a similar exodus of the cadre in Nashik was witnessed soon after Raut had visited the city in order to strengthen the Uddhav faction in December last year. Raut, however, downplayed the latest defections while dubbing the party leaders, who had switched sides, as “non-entities” and “disloyal brokers”. He claimed that the Shiv Sena in Nashik is very much intact while accusing the Shinde camp of catching hold of “anybody and propping them up as important leaders”.
MNS made a dash in 2012, but..
In 2012, the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) emerged as a kingmaker by winning 40 of the 122 seats in the Nashik Municipal Corporation. However, the tide turned against the MNS in 2017, and the BJP clinched 66 seats, while its then ally, the Shiv Sena, managed to get 35 seats, coming second. Now, after Shinde’s revolt and the split within the Sena, the two rival factions are seeking to outperform each other in the 2023 civic polls.