Uddhav Thackeray says Chhagan Bhujbal would have become CM had he not left Sena

The Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray said senior Nationalist Congress Party leader Chhagan Bhujbal would have become the chief minister of Maharashtra had he not quit the Sena.

According to PTI, Thackery was speaking at a function here to mark Bhujbal's 75th birthday which saw leaders of the Sena-NCP-Congress Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition coming together. National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah was also present at the event along with NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat.

”I have now become shock-proof. But when Bhujbal left the Shiv Sena, I must admit that our family was in a state of shock. The anger (that was vented) was political. We could not digest it for a long time that one of our own family members had deserted us,” Thackeray said.

”If Uddhav Thackeray had sought Bhujbal’s help (during the latest crisis which toppled the MVA government), he would have continued as CM even today,” Pawar said.

Thackeray also said that the MVA, formed after the Sena parted ways with the BJP, was a successful experiment. “I am prepared for a fight. The struggle is not just of the Shiv Sena alone. We all have to unite for a second freedom struggle,” he added.