Shinde had retained most of the sitting MLAs, who chose to be with him when he led the rebellion two years ago. They delivered for him on Saturday when votes for the state polls were counted.
He said Shiv Sena protected a political leadership for 25-30 years but they (the BJP) didn't want Sena and also the Akali Dal -- the erstwhile members of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Uddhav Thackeray claimed the new Narendra Modi government at the Centre, which was sworn in on June 9, will collapse and will be replaced by an INDIA bloc dispensation.
It will be the first major electoral contest in the state after Shinde's rebellion brought down the previous Maharashtra government led by Uddhav Thackeray in June this year.
'Those seeking short-term benefits are joining the Shinde-led Sena and the ones looking at long-term benefits are joining the BJP.'
Against the backdrop of the Eknath Shinde-led government winning the trust vote in the Maharashtra Assembly, Shiv Sena president and former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday alleged it was the Bharatiya Janata Party's ploy to finish his party, and challenged it to hold mid-term elections in the state.
A BMC spokesperson said the average voter turnout stood at 29.96 per cent till 1.30 pm in the metropolis, which has more than 1 crore eligible electors.
As the campaign for the Lok Sabha elections gathers momentum, Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray, the leaders of two prominent regional parties in Maharashtra, are fighting a battle for political survival.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Udvav Thackeray launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party and said that anyone who spreads communal disharmony 'can't be a Hindu', while also affirming that the 'Hindutva' of his party is 'clean'.
With Ajit Pawar's passing, the 40 MLAs who remain will now have to decide whether they want to continue in Mahayuti in the company of the BJP and Shiv Sena -- or return to the Sharad Pawar fold.
Maharashtra is set to hold local body elections on December 2 for municipal councils and nagar panchayats. The polls are seen as a test of the ruling coalition's strength after their recent assembly election victory.
The former chief minister asked if the election authorities would also inspect the bags of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior leaders.
The speculation about the likely cabinet reshuffle in Maharashtra strengthened on Saturday, with senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule stressing that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' discretion is supreme among allies.
Senior NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil has ruled out the possibility of a merger between the two factions of the Nationalist Congress Party, stating that talks ceased following the death of Ajit Pawar.
Without naming his predecessor Uddhav Thackeray, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday launched a scathing attack on him, stating that it must be found out who betrayed the people's mandate, Bal Thackeray's ideology and an ally of 25 years.
The Mumbai police has removed extra vehicles from the security convoys of Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, his wife Rashmi and son Aaditya, an official said on Wednesday.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday said he didn't harbour aspirations to become Maharashtra CM, a remark coming against the backdrop of Maha Vikas Aghadi allies' reluctance to face assembly polls with a CM face.
Ministers will not be allowed to hold official meetings and meet visitors in the legislature complex during the session. They will have to conduct their official briefings and meetings in Mantralaya, the state secretariat, he said.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has refuted reports that indelible ink marks on voters' fingers were being wiped off during the ongoing civic polls. The BMC clarified that the Municipal Commissioner had not made any such statement.
Congress leader Varsha Gaikwad announced the party's intention to contest the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections independently, signaling a potential strain within the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance.
The MNS joining the BJP-led alliance in Maharashtra could help it with a 'Thackeray versus Thackeray' narrative, fielding Raj Thackeray, an articulate speaker, to take on his cousin Uddhav Thackeray.
'Talks are on between Uddhav Thackeray and other party leaders (about whether to go solo) for the BMC polls. Workers want the party to contest the polls solo'
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said the Bharatiya Janata Party still wants to throw its weight behind Maharashtra Navnirman Sena head Raj Thackeray's son Amit Thackeray in Mahim assembly seat, which the ruling Shiv Sena is also contesting.
The Uddhav faction was shocked to see Pawar felicitate Shinde with an award.
After receiving the PM, Thackeray left for Mumbai, state government officials said.
The BJP has emerged as the most dominant force in the recently-held municipal council and nagar panchayat elections in Maharashtra, securing the highest number of seats in five out of the state's six administrative divisions.
The timeline of the Shiv Sena-centric political crisis in Maharashtra.
Stating that Mahim was his party's seat, Uddhav said there was lack of time to hold a rally in each and every constituency of the state.
"(Someone said) I have promised that I will make a Shiv Sena worker chief minister but then he himself became CM," Shinde said, taking a jibe at Uddhav Thackeray.
A day after the Congress accused Uddhav Thackeray of unilaterally announcing his party's candidates for the upcoming Maharashtra legislative council polls, the two parties finalised a deal on Wednesday under which the Shiv Sena (UBT) will contest three out of four seats, while the grand old party will fight one.
Shinde also said a party grows when leaders reach out to the grassroot worker rather than sitting at home.
Speaking at a "people's court" and holding a "mega press conference", Thackeray said his fight would decide whether democracy survives in the country.
Disha Salian, former manager of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, died on June 8, 2020, after falling off the 14th floor of a residential building in Mumbai's Malad area, six days before Rajput allegedly committed suicide in his apartment in Bandra.
If false accusations are levelled against me, I will have no choice but to make audio-visual evidence public, Fadnavis said.
Thackeray, 59, became the third Sena leader after Manohar Joshi and Narayan Rane to occupy the top post.
Breaking the nearly three-decade-old dominance of the undivided Shiv Sena, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday emerged victorious in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, and also vanquished the alliance of Nationalist Congress Party factions led by Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar in the Pune civic body.
Taking a swipe at the 'Modi wave' before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, he said, "The Sena has seen enough 'waves' in its journey."
He, however, made it clear that his party candidates, as and when they contest elections, will do so only on MNS symbol 'railway engine'.
Thackeray said the bandh should be "strictly" followed till 2 pm, ensuring that emergency services remain operational.
A video showing an auto-rickshaw driver being beaten up allegedly by Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray workers in Maharashtra's Palghar district for 'anti-Marathi' remarks has gone viral on social media, further fuelling controversy over the language issue in the state.
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