An MLA from Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena has gone missing after the ticket for his seat, Palghar, was allotted to another. Before going missing, Shriniwas Vanga, had said he was sorry that he ever joined Shinde. His wife said that he wanted to meet Uddhav Thackeray and apologise to him in person.
The MLA had packed a bag and left home at 7 pm on Monday, and has been unreachable since. His family said he had been distraught since the seat announcement. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has spoken to Mr Vanga's wife over telephone.
Sriniwas Vanga was among the first MLAs to join Mr Shinde in his rebellion against Uddhav Thackeray. He has made it clear that he repents that decision.
Before he went missing, Mr Vanga spoke to the media and said he left a "god-like person (Uddhav Thackeray) for Shinde and now I have been betrayed".
He said he was assured that all sitting MLAs will be fielded again in this election. But the ticket for Palghar has been given to former MP Rajdendra Gavit, who left the BJP and joined Mr Shinde ahead of the election.
Mr Vanga expected to get a ticket from Palghar's Dahanu. Instead, he has been offered a seat in the legislative council - an offer he had scorned as a "lollipop".
Breaking down during the media interaction, he said he was "paying the price for being loyal".
Mr Vanga's father Chintamani Vanga - a strong Scheduled Tribe leader and a BJP MP from Palghar -- had died while in office in 2018. That was when he joined the united Shiv Sena, then a BJP ally. In the by-elections that foillowed, he was fielded by the Shiv Sena but lost to the BJP candidate.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Uddhav Thackeray had made a public statement asking to him to begin campaign, but the constituency ultimately went to their partner, the BJP. But Mr Thackeray ensured that Mr Vanga got a ticket during the state assembly elections from Palghar, which he won.
Given the history between the two, it was a bit of mystery why Mr Vanga joined Mr Shinde. Party leaders say when Mr Shinde was planning to rebel in 2022, Mr Vanga had visited him and invited him to his son's birthday.
Mr Shinde reportedly said 40 other MLAs would also join in the celebrations at the hotel. Later, the group had left Mumbai for Palghar and then went to Surat, making the rebellion public.
There is speculation whether Mr Vanga will now return to the fold. Senior leader of the Uddhav Thackeray faction, Sanjay Raut, had earlier been critical of the 42-year-old MLA. This morning, he had gone on record saying "Uddhav Thackeray gave you everything and yet you left the party". "We have no sympathy for him, because of his karma," he had said at a press conference.