'Hurt by recent events, will make Shiv Sena stronger': Uddhav Thackeray after losing CM's chair
1 min read 05 Jul 2022, 06:15 PM ISTUddhav Thackeray said he was hurt by the recent turn of events in Maharashtra that brought his government downThe former chief minister said he will soon visit Hingoli district in Marathwada
PremiumFormer Maharashtra chief minister and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, who lost his party MLAs to the Eknath Shinde camp that resulted in the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, said on Tuesday that he was "hurt" to see some members ditching the party despite getting benefits.
Uddhav Thackeray also said that he will soon visit Hingoli in Marathwada, Shiv Sena leaders said. The announcement comes a day after a local Shiv Sena MLA jumped ship to the Eknath Shinde faction just before the floor test.
The MLA was Santosh Bangar, the legislator from Kalamnuri in Hingoli. Interestingly, during the earlier days of the 11-day rebellion, Santosh Bangar had publicly cried, declaring his allegiance to Uddhav Thackeray. He had also pleaded Eknath Shinde and other rebel leaders to return to the Sena fold.
With Santosh Bangar's crossover, the tally of Shiv Sena legislators in the Eknath Shinde camp went up to 40.
UDDHAV THACKERAY 'PAINED'
After Santosh Bangar voted in favour of the Eknath Shinde camp in the Assembly, Uddhav Thackeray spoke to Hingoli Shiv Sena leaders over the phone and told them that he would visit the district soon, party leader Ramesh Shinde was quoted as saying by PTI.
During the meeting, Uddhav Thackeray told Shiv Sena leaders that it was "painful" to see those (MLAs and ministers) who "won due to Sena workers and got everything" (positions in the party) have left him, PTI reported.
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"But those who didn't get anything are with me. I shall fight and reinvigorate Shiv Sena. I will come to (Hingoli) soon to meet you," Uddhav Thackeray told Shiv Sena workers in the meeting, a video of which has gone viral.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who brought down the Uddhav Thackeray government with his rebellion, said Shiv Sena workers were "shocked" to see Santosh Bangar joining the Eknath Shinde faction at the last moment.
"Shiv Sena is intact. The Sena workers who were informed about the meeting attended it," Eknath Shinde said.
Eknath Shinde, who allied with Bharatiya Janata Party's Devendra Fadnavis to form a government in Maharashtra, won the crucial floor test in the state Assembly on Monday, July 4.
In the 288-member House, 164 MLAs voted for the motion of confidence in favour of Eknath Shinde, while 99 voted against it.
