Uddhav Thackeray

"However, at that time, Shinde had dilly-dallied, was evasive and did not give a proper response... I had heard of some murky goings-on... Exactly a month later on June 20, Shinde and his group started the rebellion in the party," said Thackeray Jr. He termed as "good riddance" that all the 'muck' has gone out of the party on its own, now leaving it clean, amid a thunderous round of applause.

"Don't invoke my Dad's name, use your father's name, to win the elections," said a livid Thackeray, presiding over a meeting of the Shiv Sena's national executive here this afternoon. His strong reaction came in response to unverified reports that the rebels led by Minister Eknath Sambhaji Shinde - currently camping in Guwahati - had allegedly decided to rename itself as "Shiv Sena-Balasaheb Thackeray Group".

Slamming the rebels' leader Eknath Shinde, he recalled how he did a lot for him, yet Shinde was hurling a series of baseless allegations against the Sena and Thackeray. "I did everything possible for Shinde... I allotted him the Urban Development portfolio which I handled. His son (Dr Shrikant Shinde) is a two-time MP and now they are commenting on my son (Minister Aditya Thackeray), and levelling many allegations even against me," said Thackeray.

A month later, the Sena has been knocked down and practically washed out, by an unexpected "political cloudburst" that hit the saffron party last Monday (June 20-21) night, with a series of nightmarish developments in quick succession.Ironically, on May 21, the Sena was distressed over the desertion by leaders like Sunil Jakhar and Hardik Patel in quick succession, preceded by Jyotiraditya Scindia and Jitin Prasada.

On Wednesday evening, Thackeray addressed the state via social media and expressed his readiness to step down from both crucial posts provided the rebels led by Minister Eknath Shinde come to meet him and say they don't want him to continue. However, Shinde promptly spurned the CM's offer, reiterating his pre-condition that the Shiv Sena must first walk out of its Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance government with the NCP and Congress.

Thackeray's rally comes just a couple of days before the June 10 elections for six Rajya Sabha seats followed by the June 20 polls for 10 seats in the Maharashtra Legislative Council. In these indirect elections, the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance of Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress is pitted against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with high stakes on both sides.

Addressing a huge rally here, Thackeray targeted the BJP and his estranged cousin and MNS chief Raj Thackeray on a wide-range of issues including their brand of Hindutva, love for Marathi, the Centre's pending GST dues to Maharashtra, BJP's hurdles in various important development projects of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, and attempts to separate Mumbai as a Union Territory.

State NCP President and Water Resources Minister Jayant R. Patil made the caustic remarks when questioned about the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) head's recent praise for Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. "Earlier, he lauded Gujarat, now he is praising UP. He will go all around the country, visiting and appreciating all other states except Maharahtra. As long as Uddhav Thackeray is the CM, he (Raj Thackeray) will not have a good word for this state," Patil said.

Talking to media at party headquarters about recent clashes in a number of states during Ram Navami processions, BJP national spokesperson Dr Sambit Patra said that incidents like these happen when senior leaders like Gandhi and Thackeray make such remarks due to their appeasement policy. It also alleged that the Gandhi family can go to any extent to grab power.

In a letter to Thackeray, state Congress President Nana Patole said that the Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress - hailing from different ideological backgrounds -- had decided to run the MVA government on the basis of a CMP. "Owing to the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic since March 2020, the CMP implementation was delayed, but now as the coronavirus threat is over, the CMP should be executed for the overall development of all sections of society," Patole urged the Chief Minister.