Amit Shah asked Shinde to merge his party with BJP: Sanjay Raut

MUMBAI: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut created a flutter in political circles on Sunday by claiming that Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde had met union home minister Amit Shah on Feb 22 in Pune at 4 am to complain against CM Devendra Fadnavis, and that Shah had asked Shinde to merge his party with the BJP to keep his claim on the CM’s post intact.

Raut’s assertions in his weekly column Rokhthok in Saamna have sparked speculation about the future politics of Shinde and the internal equations of the BJP’s national leaders with the state leadership. Fadnavis and his deputies Shinde and Ajit Pawar, on their part, have called Raut’s claims “laughable”.

Due to the ongoing cold war between Fadnavis and Shinde and the series of decisions by Fadnavis to corner Shinde, there is unrest in the Shinde camp. It was against this backdrop that Raut on Sunday claimed that Shinde had met Amit Shah to complain about Fadnavis and to check the possibility of his becoming CM again.

“Shinde complained to Shah about how Fadnavis had taken decisions to corner him in the ruling alliance and how he was staying or ordering probes into the decisions taken during his tenure as CM,” wrote Raut. “When Shinde said that he and his people had joined the alliance on the word of Shah that he would make Shinde CM again, Shah told him that with the BJP winning 132 seats in the assembly elections, it was not possible to accept a non-BJP leader as the CM. He suggested to Shinde that the only way to keep his claim on the CM post was to merge his party with the BJP.”

Raut also slammed Shinde for questioning why Shiv Sena (UBT) party chief Uddhav Thackeray did not attend the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj. “Shinde should first ask RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, if, as a Hindu, he has visited the Kumbh to take a dip instead of targeting Uddhav Thackeray,” he wrote.

Raut’s claim on the encompassing of the Shiv Sena in the BJP sparked speculation about Shinde’s future politics but also irked Shinde and Shiv Sena ministers. The deputy CM said he had not read Raut’s column. “The media should not take him seriously,” he said. “I did not meet Amit Shah in the early hours but around 10 am as a courtesy visit. There was no complaint or discussion on a merger.” Shinde said that the rumours were being spread to damage him, but the people spreading them were losing their credibility.

Social justice minister Sanjay Shirsat slammed Raut for the article and rubbished the speculation. “Those who sold their Sena to the Congress and NCP (SP) should not talk about the real Shiv Sena,” he said. “Who has told them all this? Did Amit Shah tell them? We don’t take them seriously at all.”