In a major blow to the Thackeray's, former Shiv Sena leader and former state health minister Deepak Shinde has joined Eknath Shinde's party. The veteran leader was welcomed by Shinde in a official press conference. Sawant was a member of Maharashtra Legislative Council, belonging to the Shiv Sena. He represented the Mumbai graduate constituency. He was elected to office in July, 2006 for a term of six years and then reelected in July 2012.
However he was denied a spot on the ticket in his third election bid. He was appointed Maharashtra's cabinet minister of in December, 2014 with the portfolio Public Health and Family Welfare. The development comes days after Subhash Desai's son Bhushan Desai joined Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led faction of the party on Monday, dealing a jolt to the rival camp. Terming the development as distressing, the Desai senior (80), a key aide of former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, said his son's move will not in any way change his loyalty towards the party and the Thackeray family. A crucial member of Uddhav Thackeray's inner circle, Subhash Desai, seen as a suave face of the party, was instrumental in starting the Shiv Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' along with Uddhav Thackeray.