After Team Uddhav's Rs 2,000-Crore Deal Charge, Shinde Camp Hits Back

Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday said he is confident that "deals and transactions worth Rs 2000 crore" have been done so far, in six months, to get the Shiv Sena party name and symbol. 40 MLAs who defected from the party last year, amid huge chaos that resulted in a regime change, were given Rs 50 crore each, he said.

"This is an initial figure and is 100% true. Soon there will be many revelations. This has never happened before in the country's history," he tweeted in Hindi.

In a huge setback for his party, the Election Commission on Friday allotted the party name "Shiv Sena" and the symbol 'bow and arrow' to the faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who rebelled against Uddhav Thackeray, toppled his government by taking away most of his MLAs, and joined forces with the BJP last year.

Uddhav Thackeray's father Bal Thackeray founded the outfit in 1966. 

Mr Raut has been claiming the Uddhav Thackeray faction is the 'real' Shiv Sena, and his party has also approached the Supreme Court. In another tweet, he said the Election Commission's order 'does not inspire confidence'.

"A Constitutional Body with quasi judicial powers should not only be impartial but ALSO APPEAR TO BE AWAY FROM ANY INFLUENCE. Unfortunately ECI Order doesnot inspire confidence. 

BJP has no scruples & can go to any extreme to safeguard its investment of 2000 Crs (40 MLAX 50 Cr)," he tweeted.

The Shinde camp has dismissed the charge.

"Is Sanjay Raut a cashier?" MLA Sada Sarvankar from the Shinde camp said.

I've informed the nation, that the way the Shiv Sena name and party symbol were snatched from us, is not justice, or truth. It's a business. It was bought...This decision has been bought," Mr Raut said.

The Rajya Sabha member told reporters that a builder close to the ruling dispensation shared this information with him, and that his claim was backed by proof, which he would disclose soon.

Pre-empting the Thackeray camp's challenge in the Supreme Court to the poll body's decision, Eknath Shinde has filed a caveat in the Supreme Court notifying them that Uddhav Thackeray may challenge the Election Commission ruling on the Shiv Sena name and symbol. Mr Shinde urged the court to also hear from the Maharashtra government before passing any order.

The Shiv Sena, which came to power in the state in alliance with the BJP, parted ways with the party after the results of the 2019 Assembly polls were declared, claiming the latter had reneged on a promise to share the Chief Minister's post with it.

Uddhav Thackeray subsequently teamed up with the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress to lead the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), till it fell in June last year after Mr Shinde rebelled.