MUMBAI: An offhand remark by a Shiv Sena legislator has set tongues wagging about the party and its rival, the Shiv Sena (UBT), particularly his reference to the two sides “coming together”.
“I don’t know whether the two will come together but I had said, on day one when the Shiv Sena split, that such a thing should never have happened. If Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde come together, it would be a real Diwali,’ Sena MLC Chandrakant Raghuvanshi told the media on Sunday.
Raghuvanshi admitted that his wish for the two Senas to reunite was not rooted in knowledge of any actual merger talks. “The Sena is led by Shinde saheb and Sena (UBT) by Uddhav Thackeray. Only Shinde Saheb can take decisions on behalf of the Sena.
The two Senas, one led by Uddhav Thackeray and the other by deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, have not once hinted at getting back together ever since Shinde deserted the parent party in June 2022, with 40 MLAs, and joined the BJP-led Mahayuti government.
The word “merger” is currently a hot-button topic in Maharashtra’s political circles, with talk of the widely anticipated reunion of the two factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) surfacing yet again. On Raghuvanshi’s remark, industries minister (Sena) Uday Samant said it was his personal opinion. This could be the personal opinion of Raghuvanshi,” said Samant BJP MLC Pravin Darekar said there was no talk of the Senas reuniting. “I can comment only if a senior leader makes a statement.”
