Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray declared on Saturday that no "traitor" will be welcomed back into the party after becoming "jobless" in the next month and a half, alluding to the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections expected to take place in November.
"After one-and-half months, these traitors (MLAs, MPs who rebelled against the party) will come to us for jobs because they will be jobless. I am not going to give a job to any traitor after the polls," Thackeray said.
The Shiv Sena split in June 2022 when Eknath Shinde spearheaded a rebellion against Uddhav Thackeray, resulting in the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government. Since then, Thackeray and the Shiv Sena (UBT) have consistently labeled Shinde and his faction as "traitors." Speaking at a job fair organized by his party, Thackeray asserted that the people of Maharashtra will demonstrate to both the BJP and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena their rightful position in the upcoming assembly elections.
In a continued criticism of the Shinde government, former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray stated that his party will hold those responsible accountable for the alleged misappropriation of state resources once they regain power. Amid Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Maharashtra that day, Thackeray remarked that whenever the Prime Minister lays the foundation stone for a project, it often remains unfinished.