‘Modern Duryodhan’: Shiv Sena claims Uddhav Thackeray opposed Raj Thackeray's rise in party

Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena on Monday reacted to reports of a possible political reunion of Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray with a vitriolic attack against the Shiv Sena (UBT) supremo, claiming he never allowed his cousin to rise within the undivided party. Shiv Sena spokesperson and Thane MP Naresh Mhaske also called Uddhav Thackeray the "modern Duryodhan".

Mhaske attributed the reported deliberations to Uddhav Thackeray's attempt to stay relevant in politics. He claimed the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader was hurtling towards Raj Thackeray with overtures because his party lacks crowd-pulling leaders.

"Sena (UBT) doesn't have crowd-pulling leaders. This realisation has prompted them to turn towards Raj Thackeray. The party is facing an existential crisis in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha," Mhaske alleged.

Mhaske claimed Uddhav Thackeray opposed Raj Thackeray's rise in the undivided Shiv Sena "tooth and nail".

"He never allowed his brother Raj Thackeray to rise within the party, even when Balasaheb Thackeray had proposed giving him key responsibilities. Uddhav opposed it tooth and nail," he was quoted as saying by the news agency PTI.

Mhaske asserted that Raj Thackeray would not fall for Sena (UBT)'s overtures. "He was thrown out of the undivided Sena. Now they want him to board a sinking ship—but Raj is not a naive politician," he said.

Also read: Eknath Shinde irked by question on Raj-Uddhav Thackeray reunion: ‘Talk about work’

He also accused Shiv Sena (UBT) of maintaining "double standards" on Hindutva, citing their stance on the Waqf Act.

"They didn't support the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. They are also opposing the introduction of Hindi as a medium of instruction from classes 1 to 5 for political gains. Hindi is already taught after class V. They are trying to create an atmosphere just for votes," he alleged.

Sanjay Nirupam attacks Uddhav Thackeray

Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) leader Sanjay Nirupam took a sarcastic jibe at the former, calling UBT "so weak" that they have to join hands with either MNS or “compromise with Muslim votes.”

"If both the brothers (Uddhav and Raj Thackeray) and their parties want to unite, we do not have anything to do. Today, the condition of Uddhav Thackeray and his party is that sometimes they have to join hands with Congress to win elections and sometimes compromise with Muslim votes. Today, they have become so weak that they have to give a proposal to join hands with MNS," Nirupam told ANI in Mumbai.

Alleging that Uddhav Thackeray has made his faction of the party as the 'Muslim league,' Nirupam posed the question whether MNS would like to ally with a party which openly opposed the Waqf Act.