Uddhav faction says Shinde Sena facing imminent collapse, claims BJP will pull away 35 MLAs
In Mumbai, the Uddhav Thackeray‑led wing of the Shiv Sena hit back at the Eknath Shinde faction in a scathing editorial in its mouthpiece “Saamana.” They warned that the rival Shiv Sena is teetering on an “uncontrollable fire” that will eventually push at least 35 of its own legislators into the Bharatiya Janata Party’s fold.
The Thackeray camp used an editorial to explain the BJP’s state chief, Ravindra Chavan’s recent remark – “Number 2 is all a lie. Number two has no value. Devabhau (Fadnavis) is everything” – as proof that the BJP has completely edged out the Shinde group.
According to them, Chavan and the BJP have cornered Shinde and his loyalists. The piece claimed that the local body elections have turned into a “game of money,” with votes supposedly worth between ₹10 000 and ₹15 000 as partners in the MahaYuti coalition sabotage each other.
The editorial cited former Shinde‑faction legislator Shahaji Patil’s angry words, “We are destined for slavery to the BJP.” It also noted Shinde‑faction minister Gulabrao Patil boasting that he holds the Urban Development portfolio and was offering voters what he called a “Lakshmi Darshan” of cash during the campaign.
“While Maharashtra faces many issues, the Chief Minister and his two deputies are busy campaigning for municipal elections. The BJP and Shinde faction are engaging in mutual sabotage. Voters are lured with huge money, and those who accept fall into a trap that readies them for Zindabad slogans. They have no policy or regulation – only money and the game of money. In such a money‑oriented municipal election, nothing but five to ten thousand rupees reaches the public,” the editorial claimed.
The Thackeray side took aim at Shinde’s call for the BJP to stick to the coalition “dharma” or face conflict. They said the Shinde faction lacks the moral conviction for such a stand, painting them as political dependents of Amit Shah who can only cling to the crumbs offered.
Contrast that with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s rally speech in which he boasted, “We have plenty of ethics (‘niti’), intent (‘niyati’), and funding (‘nidhi’).”
The editorial also criticized the MahaYuti alliance, dubbing Maharashtra’s present arrangement a “three‑legged political system” or a “three‑wheeled rickshaw,” echoing the BJP’s earlier attack on the former Maha Vikas Aghadi government.
“Their own three‑wheeled rickshaw government has arrived, and it is overloaded and appears on the verge of collapse. Conflicts and disturbances have begun due to the local body elections. The current ‘rickshaw’ is adrift and poised to fall into a ditch. Competition in the local body elections has caused fights and infighting. Ravindra Chavan daily ridicules Shiv Sena, yet the Shinde faction remains servile to the BJP out of desire for power and fear of agencies like the ED,” the piece read.
The editorial named specific incidents of rivalry during the local body elections: a case filed against Shinde‑faction legislator Nilesh Rane in Konkan, and reports of BJP members attacking Shiv Sena workers in several spots. The Shinde side’s repeated pleas to “Follow the alliance dharma” only underscored their desperation.
The editorial dismissed the Shinde faction’s boast that no one dares challenge them while the Modi‑Shah duo is present, calling that claim an illusion.
“Modi‑Shah and BJP belong to no one exclusively,” the editorial asked. “Hinduhriday Samrat Balasaheb Thackeray provided massive support to Modi‑Shah, yet they cannot remain with the latter. So where do the Shinde faction supporters stand?” “Saamana” queried.
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