Uddhav Thackeray was interviewed by Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut. (file)
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday compared rebel party leaders to "rotten leaves" of a tree and said let there be elections to make it clear whether people support him on the rebel faction.
In his first interview with Shiv Sena's mouthpiece 'Saamana' after stepping down as the chief minister last month, Thackeray said it was a mistake that he trusted some of the party leaders too much.
Mr Thackeray was interviewed by Saamana executive editor and Shiv Sena's Rajya Sabha MP, Sanjay Raut, in a studio.
Without naming Sena rebel and Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde, Mr Thackeray said that some people are comparing themselves with Balasaheb Thackeray, which shows "monstrous ambition and greed (for power)".
Last month, the Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra, which comprised the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress, collapsed after Sena MLA Eknath Shinde and 39 other legislators rebelled against the party leadership.
Mr Shinde was later sworn in as the chief minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis as his deputy.
"These rebels are like rotten leaves of a tree and should be shed. It is good for the tree as there will be new leaves," Mr Thackeray said.
Reacting to the claim of rebel leaders that they represent the real Shiv Sena, Thackeray said that let there be elections and see whom people chose.
"The people we will either vote for us or support them. It will be clear once and for all," the former CM said.
Asked who could be blamed for the rebellion, he said, "Looks like I put too much trust in some Sena workers and leaders. It is my mistake to have trusted them for such a long time." "The BJP is not only trying to break the Shiv Sena but also trying to appropriate great leaders of other parties," Thackeray alleged.
"The way they tried to appropriate Sardar Patel from the Congress, they are doing the same thing with my late father, Balasaheb Thackeray, who founded the Shiv Sena," he claimed.
Mr Thackeray said these leaders are not trustworthy and they are causing infighting among Sena workers.
He also said the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance was worth a try in politics.
"Had it been a wrong step according to people, they would have risen against our alliance. We had respect for each other in the Maha Vikas Aghadi," the Sena chief said.
Mr Thackeray, without taking the name of Eknath Shinde, said, "There are some people who are comparing themselves with Shiv Sena supremo (late Balasaheb Thackeray). This is monstrous ambition and greed".
"Going by the current arrangement, I want to ask them (Bharatiya Janata Party) the difference between what I had demanded in 2019 and what they are doing right now. I had asked for the post of chief minister for Shiv Sena for two-and-a-half years," he said.
Mr Thackeray said the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) of Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and Congress wouldn't have come into existence had his demand (for the CM's post on rotation) been met by the BJP at that time.
The Shiv Sena and BJP fell out after the 2019 assembly elections over the issue of the post of the chief minister, which Mr Thackeray claimed was promised on a rotation basis to Sena by BJP leadership.
The Sena then joined hands with NCP and Congress to form a government, forcing the BJP to sit in opposition despite winning the highest number of seats in the elections.
Responding to Mr Thackeray's interview, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis of the BJP said he didn't watch a "fixed match".
"Had it been a live match, I would have responded to it," he said.
Notably, Uddhav's wife Rashmi Thackeray is the editor of 'Saamana'.
BJP leader Ashish Shelar said it was "highly insulting" to term the CM of Maharashtra "dry leaves".
"Will NCP leader Supriya Sule comment on it now?" he questioned.
When the MVA was in power, Ms Sule often asked BJP to refrain from targeting Mr Thackeray saying he is the CM of Maharashtra.
In a dig, Shelar said the teaser of the interview was interesting but the actual movie bombed.
"If Thackeray wants Sena MLAs (of the Eknath Shinde camp) to resign and face elections then he should take lead (by asking MLAs in his camp to resign). Thackeray also tried to gain sympathy by talking about his illness. He, however, had met West Bengal chief minister Mamata Bannerjee and NCP chief Sharad Pawar during the same time," he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)