Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
Since its crushing defeat in the Assembly elections, Uddhav Sena has been facing continuous defections. Just 15 days after office bearers from the Shiv Sena’s East Assembly constituency joined the BJP, the party suffered another setback on Friday. Ten former corporators of Uddhav Sena joined the Shinde Sena in Mumbai in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
The leaders who joined the Shinde Sena include former Standing Committee Chairman Mohan Meghawale, former House Leader Kishor Nagare, Group Leader Makarand Kulkarni, former corporators Anil Jaiswal, Roopchand Waghmare, Swati Nagare, Jyoti Waghmare, Meena Gayake, Jyoti Pinjarkar, and Seema Kharat. These former corporators were set to join the party 15 days ago, but internal factionalism within the Shinde Sena delayed their entry. Over the past few days, several office bearers, former mayors, and corporators from the Uddhav Sena have been continuously bidding farewell to the party.
During the Assembly elections, Shiv Sena district chief Kishanchand Tanwani refused the party’s candidature and joined the Shinde Sena a few days later. On the second day of the new year, former mayor Nandkumar Ghodele, his wife Anita Ghodele, and Marathwada Secretary Ashok Patwardhan—known to be close associates of Shiv Sena leader Chandrakant Khaire—also switched to the Shinde Sena.
Following this, there were speculations that another 10 to 12 former corporators and office bearers would leave the party. In an attempt to prevent further defections, Shiv Sena leaders Ambadas Danve and Chandrakant Khaire personally visited these leaders at their homes and even organised a party gathering together. However, the exodus has continued.
Fifteen days ago, East Assembly city organiser Vishwanath Swami joined the BJP. Now, 10 more former corporators have joined the Shinde Sena at Industries Minister Uday Samant’s ‘Muktai’ Bungalow in Mumbai. The event was attended by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, MP Sandipan Bhumare, MLA Pradeep Jaiswal, and Yuva Sena leader Rishikesh Jaiswal.