Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday launched a sharp attack on Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, accusing him of betraying the-then ally and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis following the 2019 assembly elections. Speaking during the Opposition’s "Last Week Motion" in the legislative council, Shinde recalled the events post-election when the undivided Shiv Sena-BJP alliance had secured a majority.
Without directly naming Thackeray, Shinde claimed that after the results, Fadnavis made "40 to 50 calls" to reach out, hoping to move forward with government formation. However, there was no response from the other side, he alleged. Shinde's remarks come as the political rift between the former allies continues to dominate discourse in Maharashtra politics, with both camps often trading barbs over their 2019 fallout.
'Changed colours like a chameleon'
"Maharashtra has never seen a chameleon changing colours so fast. He went with those whom he once considered lowly," Shinde said in an apparent reference to Thackeray joining hands with the Congress after severing the alliance with the BJP. It was because of his (Shinde's) request that Fadnavis had agreed to cede the post of Mumbai's mayor to the Shiv Sena in 2017 after the Sena won 84 seats and the BJP 82 in the civic polls, Shinde said. "But he (Thackeray) betrayed Fadnavis in 2019 (by walking out of the alliance)," Shinde added.
Backroom talks during Guwahati revolt
Shinde also claimed that while he and rebel Sena MLAs supporting him were camping in Guwahati in 2022 after rebelling against Thackeray, the latter approached him for reconciliation, and at the same time told the BJP leadership in Delhi not to support the rebel group. Shinde said the Thackeray government had announced starting a music school in the name of Lata Mangeshkar after the singing legend's death.
Lata Mangeshkar school controversy
But when the Mangeshkar family awarded the first Lata Deenanath Mangeshkar Award to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Thackeray got so upset that he decided against starting the music school, Shinde claimed. When he became chief minister in 2022, he started the music school, Shinde added. Notably, Shinde's reminder of Thackeray 'betraying' Fadnavis and the BJP in 2019 came a day after the Shiv Sena (UBT) chief met the Maharashtra Chief Minister. A day earlier, Fadnavis, in a tongue-in-cheek remark in the House, had asked Thackeray to come over to the ruling side.
(With inputs from PTI)
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