Thane: Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who heads the rebel faction, has said that the “original” Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will fight the upcoming elections for municipal bodies in Maharashtra together. Speaking at an event in Thane, he said the rebel camp represents the ‘original’ Shiv Sena.
“The BJP and Shiv Sena will fight the upcoming elections for civic bodies, including Thane, in alliance,” Shinde said on Saturday night.
Elections to many municipal corporations, including Mumbai, are to be held in the next few months.
Shinde’s announcement assumes significance as the rebel faction of 40 MLAs, including some MLAs from Mumbai and the metropolitan region, could harm Shiv Sena’s traditional Marathi vote bank.
Speaking about Thane Municipal Corporation, Shinde said that Shiv Sena is ruling Thane for the last 25 years and voters will make the right choice.
In the 2019 assembly elections, the BJP and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena had contested together, but later parted ways, sharing the chief minister’s post.
“Balasaheb Thackeray always wanted BJP and Shiv Sena to be in alliance. He never wanted Shiv Sena to join Congress or Nationalist Congress Party. We are going to follow Balasaheb. BJP and Shiv Sena are also in power in the state.