Former Corporater of Shiv Sena (UBT) Upendra Sawant joined Shiv Sena in the presence of CM Eknath Shinde. Sawant is a former Corporater of Vikroli Kannamwar Nagar area of Mumbai and was close to Sanjay Raut and his brother Sunil Raut.
Sawant expressed his dissatisfaction with the lack of development work in his ward for the past one-and-a-half years as the reason for his decision to join Shiv Sena.
Eknath Shinde also criticised the opposition, saying, “We are often accused of lacking the courage to hold elections. Yet, the delay is due to the pending Supreme Court petition by the UBT group on the ward structure.” He emphasized that even if elections were to happen unexpectedly, they are prepared for it. "The opposition came together in 2014 and 2019, but they couldn't defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Hence, even after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Narendra Modi will remain the Prime Minister," expressed Eknath Shinde confidently.