In the assembly elections, Uddhav Thackeray’s party got 20 seats. Keeping the upcoming municipal elections in mind, many of Uddhav Sena’s office-bearers are now joining the Shinde Sena. In a significant setback for the Thackeray faction in North Mumbai, Uddhav Sena spokesperson and former corporator Sanjana Ghadi and her husband Sanjay Ghadi have joined Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena. With the Ghadi couple's entry, the Shinde Sena has struck a blow to the Thackeray faction in the Dahisar and Magathane constituencies of North Mumbai.
Since the split in the Shiv Sena, Sanjana Ghadi has emerged as an important leader and spokesperson of the Thackeray group. She is also a former corporator in the Mumbai Municipal Corporation. She held the post of Deputy Leader in Uddhav Sena, but her name was not included in the recently released list of spokespersons by the Thackeray faction, leading to speculation that she was unhappy. Eventually, at the last moment, her name was announced for the spokesperson role, but even then, she chose to leave the Thackeray group.
Sanjana Ghadi said, "Eknath Shinde is working based on the ideology of Hindu Hriday Samrat Balasaheb Thackeray and Anand Dighe. We believed the assembly elections would reveal who the real Shiv Sena belongs to, and the people gave their verdict. We have closely observed everything. The way sincere, hard-working party workers were being sidelined and silenced was disheartening. If the very people we were working for began to suppress us, it raised the question: do the people even want them? That’s when we felt it was better to work under the leadership of Eknath Shinde, who is taking the state forward with real, on-ground development. We are ready to fulfill any responsibility given to us. We hope to maintain your trust," she said, raising questions about Uddhav Thackeray’s leadership style.
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She said, “Every day brings new accusations, curses, and slanders. I never responded to allegations with counter-allegations, but instead with my work. The public saw the work done in the two and a half years, and they gave us their mandate. Working as an ordinary party worker, we achieved great success. Even today, we are making many decisions for the state. Positions come and go, but a name should never be lost. I have worked to preserve that name. Whatever we want to do should be for the common people.”
Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said, “A massive number of Shiv Sena corporators are joining us. The saffron flag of Shiv Sena will surely fly over the municipal corporation.”