The first phase of the Lok Sabha elections ended on April 19 and now preparations have started for the second phase. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is campaigning in the state. In an exclusive interview with Times of India, he has hit out at former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and also made a big revelation.
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"Shiv Sena will contest 16 seats in the state. It also includes three seats in Mumbai". CM Shinde also said that there is no difference of opinion among the allies of the Grand Alliance over seat sharing and he will break the record of 2019 by campaigning on the issue of development and winning 42 seats.
"Uddhav Thackeray had a dream of becoming Chief Minister. The formation of the Maha Vikas Aghadi was a pre-planned game. Instead of becoming a kingmaker like his father, Uddhav Thackeray wants to be a king himself," Shinde said.
Shinde also alleged that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government had hatched a conspiracy to arrest BJP leaders Ashish Shelar, Girish Mahajan, Pravin Darekar and Devendra Fadnavis in June 2022.
"They were going to take away the urban development portfolio from me"
"I was constantly humiliated in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government. The Thackeray family was 100 percent involved, I had the urban development portfolio but was never allowed to work independently." Eknath Shinde also alleged that Aaditya Thackeray was interfering. "On several occasions, I found him calling meetings of urban development, MMRDA, CIDCO and Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation." Eknath Shinde also alleged that Thackeray was thinking of taking away the urban development portfolio from him before the party split.