Could not get justice for my father, feel like giving up politics, says Shiv Sena (UBT) MP at centre of defection storm

Omraje said he had entered politics with the sole objective of getting justice for his father. “I had only one intention when getting into politics and that was to get justice for my father. But now I have lost all interest. I am frustrated, I feel helpless, and I don’t feel like carrying on further in this field,” he said.

When asked whether he had received a call from Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray after the verdict, Omraje replied, “No, I didn’t get his call, but Sena leaders had tried to get in touch with me.”

Omraje said Uddhav Thackeray had always helped him. “I have nothing against Uddhavji. He has always helped me. I am not angry with him,” he said.

He lamented the fact that a section of the media was reporting that he had criticised Uddhav Thackeray and his son Aaditya Thackeray.

“False news is being spread that I criticised Uddhav Thackeray and Aaditya. I have never done that and will never do that,” he claimed.

Omraje’s father, Pawanraje Nimbalkar, a Congress leader from Dharashiv, and his driver, Samad Kazi, were shot dead on June 3, 2006, in Navi Mumbai’s Kalamboli. Padamsinh Patil, the brother of Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar and a former Maharashtra minister, was arrested along with eight others in the case.

Asked whether he would have a change of mind in view of the backlash from people in Dharashiv, Omraje reiterated that he would discuss the issue with people in his constituency on Sunday and then take a decision.

After he had remained out of reach and then skipped the Sena (UBT)’s parliamentary party meeting in Delhi earlier this week, backlash against Omraje reached a crescendo as it looked increasingly likely that he would be one of the six MPs — alongside Sanjay Dina Patil, Sanjay Deshmukh, Nagesh Patil Ashtikar, Sanjay Jadhav and Bhausaheb Wakchaure — who were rumoured to be heading towards the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde.

Several memes about his fickle loyalty have cropped up on the internet. In Dharashiv district, party workers belonging to Uddhav Sena have decided to hold a protest outside Omraje’s residence once he returns from Mumbai.

Till the last minute, the Uddhav Sena was expecting that Omraje would not desert the party. The party said Omraje had been a loyalist to the party and its chief for years and did not leave even when Deputy CM Eknath Shinde took away three-fourths of the MLAs and MPs during the split in the undivided Shiv Sena in 2022.

“We are hoping that Omraje will not go. And that he will remain with the party,” Sena (UBT) leader Sushma Andhare had said just a few hours before the crucial parliamentary meeting.

Omraje, who has spent his entire political career with the Shiv Sena, was first elected as an MLA from Osmanabad (later renamed Dharashiv) in 2009. He, however, lost the election to NCP’s Ranajagjitsinha Patil, son of Padamsinh, in 2014. Omraje subsequently became an MP twice, in 2019 and 2024. The party banked heavily on him, especially in Marathwada, where he was a popular figure.

However, as it increasingly became clear that Omraje might leave the party, Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said it was possible that Omraje had been promised a favourable verdict in his father’s murder case. “And therefore he has decided to dump the party which made him an MLA and MP,” he said.

Raut said Omraje was a key figure for the party in Marathwada. “His loyalty to the party has helped the Sena remain rooted in the Marathwada region despite the split,” he said.

Sena sources said the party is still hoping that Omraje will have a change of mind and reverse his decision.