The Shiv Sena (UBT) faced a significant setback ahead of the BMC elections as senior woman leader Rajul Patel joined the Shiv Sena led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday. Patel claimed that, despite her long association with the party, she had been ignored by the leadership in her parent party.
Speaking to the FPJ, Patel clarified, “I am neither against the UBT party, nor dissatisfied with it. But, I am frustrated with the local-level politics within the party.”
Although Patel did not name anyone directly, she appeared to reference Harun Khan, the UBT candidate from Versova in the recent state assembly elections. When asked if she had raised her concerns with Uddhav Thackeray, Patel declined, saying, “It’s only been two months since the assembly elections. He would seek revenge during the BMC elections if Uddhav saheb cautioned him. For this reason, I decided not to take any risks and joined Shinde’s Shiv Sena.”
Meanwhile, Shinde’s faction has been making strategic moves to bolster its presence in Mumbai. So far, 45 former UBT corporators, elected in the 2017 elections, have joined Shinde’s Shiv Sena. This brings the total number of UBT corporators joining Shinde’s camp to 80.
In addition, the Shinde-led Shiv Sena is focusing on fortifying its organisation ahead of the upcoming municipal elections. From January 28 to 31, interviews for key positions within the Mumbai executive will be held. The final selection of appointees will be approved by Shinde.
Shiv Sena secretary Kiran Pawaskar shared the details of the interviews, which are aimed at identifying skilled and dedicated leaders for vital roles, including department heads, women’s department organisers, assembly heads, sub-division heads, branch heads, Yuva Sena representatives and others.
Pawaskar emphasised the party’s focus on strengthening its grassroots network, citing Shinde’s call to intensify election preparations during his victory speech at Bandra Kurla Complex. This was followed by the passing of a resolution to reorganize the Mumbai executive at a meeting reviewing the Mumbai Municipal Corporation elections at Rangsharda Auditorium.
