Shinde says we are not Sena traitors, but revolutionaries

By Our Special Correspondent

Maharashtra's new Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has said that he and his 'rebel colleagues' are not traitors to the Shiv Sena. Sudhir told Suryavanshi in an interview that they were revolutionaries for taking the politics of the state in the right direction.

We have been in Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) since last 2.5 years but as a party, we could not get anything on the ground. On the other hand, NCP ministers are working hard to expand their party.

They also claim that NCP will get maximum number of seats in the next state assembly elections in 2024. On the other hand, there is no planning in our party. The elected Shiv Sena MLAs were confused.

Most of them are against NCP's Ajit Pawar, the finance minister, who has been strongly supporting the NCP's defeated candidates to boost their numbers in the next elections, making them contenders for the CM post. Many leaders of the NCP have voiced that the next CM of Maharashtra will belong to the NCP.

Had to find some way to survive in politics. I personally met our leadership five times but to no avail. As a leader who saw Shiv Sena from childhood, he had a desire to save the party. Forty of us took a conscious decision to align ourselves with our natural ally, the BJP.

Our leadership should also think why 40 out of 55 MLAs will leave them and form the government with BJP.

Began social work at age 18 and earned no money. I faced police cases when we protested for the inclusion of Belgaum in Maharashtra… I was in jail for 40 days. I have personally forced the closure of 16 dance bars in Thane. I have never been afraid of anything in my life.

That is why there is no truth in the allegations that the government was formed in Maharashtra by joining hands with the BJP due to the pressure of the central institutions. I would like to say that my only assets are people and their love. During the Covid-19 pandemic, I was hospitalized.

There are only two MLAs under central agencies. The rest were from the heartland, not associated with ED or any other central probe.

These legislators have real issues with the Sena leadership that we cannot ignore. It is not easy to take such action (rebellion against own party leadership).

I have no grudge against anyone. I did not enter politics with the intention of getting any position, but to help and serve the people. I work around the clock. He said that in 2014 to 2019, BJP and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis were ready to give the post of Deputy Chief Minister, but they did not take our leadership because they would give it to me.

When the three-party government was formed at that time, as the largest party in MVA, I was one of the claimants for the CM chair, but our party president told us that Congress and NCP wanted the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

I was given the Ministry of Urban Development and many people intervened. I didn't complain about it. During the Rajya Sabha elections, our second candidate Sanjay Pawar, while in the state legislative council, blamed us for losing; I am not involved and have not consulted with the party.

Moreover, our partners in the government treated our fellow Shiv Sena MLAs as stepmothers. So we all decided to do something for the party.

If he had been there, he would have taught him a lesson. On the one hand, the party leadership is telling us to come and talk to them, on the other hand, some leaders are taunting us by attacking houses, tearing down posters and banners. They incite violence against us. But they forgot that they spent more than 40 years for Shiv Sena.