‘Even his allies don’t want to see him as CM’: Eknath Shinde’s veiled attack on Uddhav Thackeray

Shinde’s speech, aimed at upcoming assembly poll campaign, was laced with taunts thrown at Thackerays, attacks on the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and recounting of government schemes for women, youth, senior citizens as well as infrastructure projects undertaken by the government.

With a saffron colour banner as the background with words “Marathi aapla Swas, Hindutva Apla Pran (Marathi is our breath, Hindutva is our life)” printed on it, Shinde made several remarks on how Uddhav Thackeray has left the real Hindutva for the sake of power.

“When we formed the government by dethroning the Maharashtra-virodhi government, some said that this government will fall in some days, some months. But I stand here, even after two years. Don’t underestimate me. I am not the one who will run away from the ground, but I make others flee. I am a hard core follower of Balasaheb Thackeray,” Shinde warned.

The CM added, “We revolted when there was injustice as Balasaheb had taught us. Had I not done this, it would have been an insult to the true Shiv Sena worker and Maharashtra would have gone back by many years.”

Claiming that Maharashtra will witness a repeat of Haryana, Shinde said, “Only the double engine government can lead to development. I must say that we never get negative remarks from the Centre, never get any cuts in funding… Because we go to Delhi for development and not to seek CM post.”

Shinde claimed that his party winning seven Lok Sabha seats out of 13 where both Senas had fought against each other proved that the people had chosen his side as the real Shiv Sena. In an apparent reference to Thackerays side getting large chunk of Muslim votes, Shinde said that now there is no difference between AIMIM and Shiv Sena UBT.

“While we are certain of Mahayuti returning to power, I ask everyone to not loosen up and ensure that every vote is cast in our favour,” he said.

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