Mumbai, June 21 -- Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday asserted that the party led by him is the "only Shiv Sena", countering Union Home Minister Amit Shah's recent claim that the Eknath Shinde-led outfit is the sole Shiv Sena.
Addressing party workers in Bhandup, which falls under rebel Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Patil's Mumbai North-East Lok Sabha constituency, Thackeray launched a sharp attack on the BJP and accused it of trying to destroy his party.
"Shiv Sena, headed by me, is the only Shiv Sena," Thackeray declared.
His remarks came a day after Shah, speaking in Kolhapur, said that there was now only one Shiv Sena and it was headed by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. "Earlier people had to refer to the Shinde-led faction separately, but now no faction remains, and there is only one Shiv Sena," Shah had said.
Big setback
In a setback for the Shiv Sena (UBT), party MP Omprakash Raje Nimbalkar, one of the six dissidents, on Sunday said he will join the Shiv Sena, headed by Shinde.
Nimbalkar arrived in Dharashiv from Pune in the afternoon and interacted with his supporters. "We lost because we were not in power. As I am not part of the government, I couldn't do much for the people in the last two years. Considering these factors, I have decided to join Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde. He stood with us."
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.