Uddhav would have aligned with BJP only if…

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New
Delhi,
Aug
06:
After
a
revolt
in
the
Shiv
Sena,
party
president
Uddhav
Thackeray
was
ready
to
align
with
the
BJP
in
Maharashtra
if
the
dissidents
dumped
rebel
leader
Eknath
Shinde,
a
proposal
that
was
unacceptable
to
rebel
MLAs
and
the
national
saffron
outfit,
legislator
Deepak
Kesarkar
claimed
on
Friday,
according
to
news
agency
PTI.

Kesarkar,
a
spokesperson
of
the
rebel
faction
of
Shiv
Sena
MLAs
led
by
CM
Shinde,
also
revealed
that
Thackeray
was
planning
to
step
down
as
Maharashtra
Chief
Minister
last
year
after
talks
with
Prime
Minister
Narendra
Modi.
Kesarkar
said
for
Thackeray,
who
resigned
as
CM
on
June
29
following
the
revolt
in
the
Shiv
Sena,
that
his
relations
with
Modi
were
far
more
important
than
holding
on
to
the
top
post.

The
Thackeray
camp
of
the
Sena
sought
to
make
light
of
Kesarkar’s
comments,
saying
he
has
been
making
self-contradictory
statements
after
being
appointed
a
spokesperson
and
sounds
“confused”.
Kesarkar
said
after
the
rebellion
broke
out
in
the
party
with
39
MLAs
(the
number
now
stands
at
40)
siding
with
Shinde,
the
rebel
leader
who
is
now
the
chief
minister,
he
again
approached
Thackeray
through
someone
who
was
involved
in
talks
between
the
BJP
and
the
Shiv
Sena.
However,
Thackeray
said
he
was
ready
to
align
with
the
BJP
provided
the
rebels
leave
Shinde
and
come
back
to
the
party-fold,
a
proposal
which
was
not
acceptable
to
the
dissident
MLAs
and
the
BJP,
he
claimed.

Relief
for
Uddhav
camp,
SC
asks
Election
Commission
to
not
decide
on
team
Eknath
Shinde’s
plea
for
now

He
claimed
when
even
Thackeray
was
ready
to
align
with
the
BJP,
why
were
Sena
leaders,
particularly
Aaditya
Thackeray,
provoking
party
workers
against
the
rebel
MLAs.
“When
I
left
for
Assam
(Guwahati
after
the
June
21
revolt),
I
contacted
one
of
those
involved
in
these
talks
(between
Thackeray
and
BJP).
I
sent
him
to
meet
Uddhav
saheb.
He
was
told
that
let’s
forget
what
has
happened
and
time
is
to
come
together.

“Even
at
that
time,
Uddhav
saheb
said
‘you
(the
BJP)
dump
Shinde
and
we
are
ready
for
an
alliance’.
This
was
not
acceptable
to
the
BJP
or
the
MLAs.
Because
it
would
have
been
inappropriate.
The
rest
is
history,”
Kesarkar
said.
Ten
days
after
raising
the
banner
of
revolt
in
the
Shiv
Sena,
Shinde
took
oath
as
CM
on
June
30
with
the
BJP’s
support.
Kesarkar
said
a
lot
of
Shiv
Sena
leaders
were
“pained”
at
attempts
to
“malign”
the
image
of
then-Cabinet
minister
Aaditya
Thackeray,
son
of
Uddhav
Thackeray,
by
BJP
MP
and
Union
minister
Narayan
Rane
by
dragging
him
in
the
Sushant
Singh
Rajput
death
case.

The
rebel
camp
spokesperson
said
he
established
contact
with
Modi
and
started
a
line
of
communication.
“After
Uddhav
ji
met
Modi
ji,
it
was
decided
he
will
quit
(as
CM)
in
the
next
15
days
because
for
him
his
relations
(with
PM)
were
more
important
(than
holding
post).
But
it
was
realised
that
he
needed
more
time
to
convince
his
party
workers,”
he
said,
adding
Thackeray’s
wife
Rashmi,
Sena
leaders
Anil
Desai,
Subhash
Desai,
Milind
Narvekar
and
Shinde
were
aware
of
this
development.

Thackeray
had
met
with
Modi
in
June
last
year
along
with
then-Deputy
Chief
minister
Ajit
Pawar
and
Congress
minister
Ashok
Chavan.
In
the
past,
Modi
had
termed
Thackeray
as
his
“younger
brother”.
The
Thackeray-PM
meeting
in
New
Delhi
was
followed
by
the
suspension
of
a
dozen
BJP
MLAs
from
the
Maharashtra
Legislative
Assembly
for
a
year
in
July
2021
over
unruly
behaviour,
a
move
which
further
strained
ties
between
former
allies
Shiv
Sena
and
the
BJP
which
was
then
in
the
opposition.

Raut
arrest,
mass
exodus,
scam
taints:
Uddhav
bravado
can’t
hide
party’s
nervousness

Later,
the
talks
halted
after
Rane,
a
bete
noire
of
Thackeray,
was
inducted
into
the
Union
Cabinet
which
upset
the
Sena
president,
Kesarkar
said.
The
talks
did
not
go
further
because
of
“ego”
issues,
Kesarkar
later
said.
All
through
the
talks,
he
kept
Shinde,
then
a
member
of
the
Thackeray
cabinet,
updated
about
developments,
Kesarkar
said.
The
spokesperson
of
the
rebel
Sena
camp
said
Shinde
met
Thackeray
multiple
times
to
convince
him
to
revive
ties
with
the
BJP.
Reacting
to
Kesarkar’s
claims,
Sena
spokesperson
Manisha
Kayande,
a
member
of
the
Thackeray
camp,
said
“He
is
revealing
something
new
every
day.
He
has
been
making
self-contradictory
statements
and
sounds
confused.”