Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Friday targeted Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and said that he is so desperate to become the Chief Minister that he has also offered to merge the Shiv Sena with the BJP. Raut claimed that Shinde had recently complained to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis during a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi.
However, Shiv Sena spokesperson Sheetal Mhatre retaliated at Raut, saying that he had become accustomed to making such statements and now his party’s people do not take him seriously. Speaking to reporters, Raut said, “Eknath Shinde said in a meeting with Amit Shah that Fadnavis is not letting him work and conducting an inquiry against his MLAs.”
Rajya Sabha MP Raut further alleged that Shinde also told Shah that efforts to strengthen Marathi unity are harmful to his party and it is necessary to weaken this movement. Raut Uddhav Thackeray and his cousin Raj Thackeray were referring to the united victory rally. The rally was organized by the government after making Hindi ‘compulsory’ from class one to five and withdrawing two controversial orders related to the trilog formula.
Raut claimed that Shinde had told Shah that if he was made the Chief Minister, such activities could be banned and the politics of Maharashtra could bring stability. He further said that when Amit Shah said that the BJP will get the post of Chief Minister, Shinde said to merge Shiv Sena with BJP. Raut said that there is such a strong desire to become the Chief Minister that he is also ready to merge his party with BJP.
This is not the first time Sanjay Raut has made such claims about Shinde faction or BJP. In January, Raut claimed that Shiv Sena minister Uday Samanta could become the third Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra and there are differences between him and Shinde. He also said that during Shinde’s Kamakhya Temple visit to Guwahati, the horns of buffalo were sacrificed in the Chief Minister’s residence ‘Varsha’ so that no one else could get this post. When Shinde became the Chief Minister in 2022, Raut had said that this government would not last long, but Shinde -led Mahayuti Sarkar returned to power with an overwhelming majority.
