After MLC Sachin Ahir defected on Tuesday to Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, simmering unrest among the Shiv Sena’s old guard (UBT) has come to the fore. A day after MLC Sunil Shinde expressed the need to scrutinize why defections occurred, MP Sanjay Raut said loyal workers were concerned about the “special treatment” given to some leaders, including outsiders like Ahir, while they were taken for granted.
Disgruntled Sena workers were pointing out that Ahir, who joined the undivided Sena just seven years ago, has been given several senior positions in the party. Although he won from Worli, the Sena’s traditional stronghold, only once in 2009, he practically controlled the party’s activities there. This has angered local leaders, including Sunil Shinde and former mayor Kishori Pednekar.
After Ahir resigned from the party, Sunil Shinde reminded the leadership that it had preferred Ahir over him and other local leaders while handling Worli affairs. “I defeated him in Worli by more than 23,000 votes,” he said. “Worli is a bastion of the Shiv Sena and the Thackeray family for decades. Aditya Thackeray won not because of Ahir but because of party loyalists and the reputation of the Thackeray family. I was watching what was happening but did not talk about it because I am so unimportant. But our seniors in the party really need to reflect now.”
This particular sentiment is expressed by Thackeray Sainik hardliners who stayed with the party when Eknath Shinde bifurcated it in 2022 and walked out along with a majority of the MLAs. On Wednesday, Sanjay Raut also endorsed the need to reflect on the way the party functions. “We need to think about this for our political future,” he said. “Some people got everything but they all left the party. We need to identify and understand the true character of the person.”
Raut pointed out that even Eknath Shinde’s political rise was made possible by the opportunities and power he got in the Sena. “If Uddhav Thackeray had not given him everything, from positions to power, where would he be?” he asked rhetorically. “He became what he is today because he received all those things from leadership.”
Former mayor Kishori Pednekar, a member of the undivided Shiv Sena for four decades, opined that loyalists should not be ignored. “The party made Manisha Kayande, who was an outsider, a member of the MLC,” she said. “What is her contribution and how has the party benefited from it? They ignored loyalist Meena Kambli’s claim and chose Kayande instead. Kambli recently joined forces with Eknath Shinde. Sunil Shinde is an old party worker and loyalist. If he is saying something, the party leadership should think about it seriously.”
While noting that the party needs to respond to the sentiments of party workers across Maharashtra, South Mumbai MP Arvind Sawant added, “Why only leadership? Each one of us has to reflect. Are we doing what the party expects us to do? Is our behavior in the interest of the party?”
Aaditya Thackeray did not respond to calls and messages.
