Mumbai:
The massive rift in the Shiv Sena has now trickled down to the lower rungs with 66 of its councillors in Thane siding with the party’s faction headed by the new Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The councillors of Thane Municipal Corporation — whose terms have ended — met the Chief Minister last evening and joined his faction. Thane is known to be the stronghold of Mr Shinde.
The move is expected to be a blow to Uddhav Thackeray, who had to step down from the post of the Chief Minister earlier this month following the rebellion by Mr Shinde and is now fighting to retain control of the party founded by his father Balasaheb Thackeray.
The Shinde faction has claimed Balasaheb’s legacy as their own and is angling for the control of the party. In assembly and the Supreme Court, they have declared that they are the real Sena, since they have the support of more than two-thirds of the party MLAs.
In the test of strength in the Maharashtra assembly earlier this week, 40 of Sena’s 55 MLAs sided with the Shinde faction.
But gaining actual control of the party also involves gaining grassroot level support — from the cadres, local leaders and corporators. If the party officially splits, the final call on who gets the name and election symbol can only be taken by the Election Commission.
The Thackeray faction is fighting back, appointing a new Chief Whip for its 19 MLAs in the Lok Sabha. The party also has three MLAs in the Rajya Sabha.