Uddhav Thackeray -- the former Chief Minister of Maharashtra unseated by the rebellion of Eknath Shinde – wanted to rejoin the NDA last year, a leader from the rebel camp has claimed. At a press conference in Delhi this evening, also attended by Mr Shinde and party colleagues in parliament, MP Rahul Shewale said in June last year, Mr Thackeray wanted to "rejoin" the NDA "but backtracked later".
The Shiv Sena, he said, has never officially left the NDA. "We are still part of the NDA". And last year, "Even Uddhavji had agreed to form an alliance with the BJP. But after 12 BJP MLAs were suspended, that plan then did not go through. When we suggested an alliance with the BJP, Uddhavji said, 'I have tried'. So why don't you try now?"
Mr Shinde, who insists that his faction is the "real Sena" which is following the ideology of party founder Balasaheb Thackeray, remained non-committal about a patch-up with Mr Thackeray. "We are following Balasaheb's footsteps. Let's see who all joins us in the future," Mr Shinde said.
On a more enigmatic note amid the tussle for the control of the party, he added, "Eknath Shinde has not become the party leader (paksh pramukh), Eknath Shinde has become the Chief Minister".
Mr Shewale, an MP from Mumbai, has been accepted as the leader of the Shiv Sena in the Lok Sabha by Speaker Om Birla after a request from 12 MPs of the party.
The split in parliament, which Mr Thackeray had been working hard to avert, surfaced during Mr Shinde's visit to Delhi. Last week, Mr Thackeray, urged by the party MPS, changed his vote in the Presidential race and supported NDA candidaye Droupadi Murmu instead of the opposition's Yashwant Sinha.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi government had seen considerable push and pull last year, so much so that at one point there was a buzz that the BJP and the Sena were getting back together. In June, Sharad Pawar, whose Nationalist Congress Party was part of the ruling alliance, played down the differences, saying, "When a government is run, it is bound to face some issues".
Sources said a key purpose of Mr Shinde's visit is to discuss cabinet formation with the BJP's central leadership. The new Chief Minister took oath on June 30 with the BJP's Devendra Fadnavis as his Deputy and they are the only two ministers in the state cabinet as of now.
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