Eknath Shinde won the support of Uddhav Thackeray’s brother Jaidev Thackeray.
Mumbai:
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s claim of being the real Shiv Sena leader suffered another blow on Wednesday when his brother Jaidev Thackeray said “his full support” was with rival Eknath Shinde.
“For the last 5-6 days I have been asked if you belong to Shinde faction. Thackeray cannot be in any faction. I like the steps taken by Shinde and have come here out of love,” he said. Speaking at the Dussehra event organized by Team Shinde.
Jaidev Thackeray said, “Don’t let Eknath be alone. You all should support him. Shinde is working for the poor and farmers. Shinde is like our farmers, he is very hardworking.”
“I would say, let Shinde state come back. Let elections be held and Shinde state come back. My full support is with Eknath Shinde,” he said.
Since plotting Uddhav Thackeray’s coup as chief minister in June and eventually replacing him with the support of a majority of Shiv Sena legislators, Mr. Shinde has sharpened his claim on the legacy of party founder Bal Thackeray.
For Dussehra, billed as a show of strength, the two factions have held a face-off since Partition: two separate rallies in Mumbai, the first since the Shiv Sena was founded 56 years ago.
While the Uddhav Thackeray faction won the legal battle to hold its rally at the historic Shivaji Park in central Mumbai’s Dadar, since the establishment of a Shiv Sena-affiliated venue, the insurgent group led by Mr. Shinde held its event at the MMRDA grounds. . In BKC in the suburbs.
Both the camps have claimed that they are carrying forward the ideals of Bal Thackeray, who was known for giving fiery speeches at Dussehra rallies at Shivaji Park till his death in 2012.