A day after Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray resigned as the Maharashtra chief minister bringing an end to the 2.5 years of the MVA government, Osmanabad MP and MLA from his party Thursday pledged their allegiance to the Thackerays. Omraje Nimbalkar, the MP from the drought-stricken district in the state’s Marathwada division, ruled out any shift in his alliance after the dramatic split in the Shiv Sena. The lawmaker who represents Osmanabad, which was renamed Dharashiv on Wednesday, said former Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray had stood by his side when they were in trouble. “There is no question about me or my supporters going anywhere else,” he said. Nimbalkar, the son of slain leader Pavanraje Nimbalkar, has been with the Shiv Sena since the beginning of his political life. Nimbalkar's arch political rival Ranajagitsinh Patil had left the NCP to join the BJP before the 2019 elections. Asked about the vertical split in Shiv Sena, Nimbalkar said MLAs and MPs might leave the party but the voters will never leave it. “People are the base of democracy and the events of the last few days have not been hidden from them. When the time comes they will teach a lesson to those people,” he said. His constituency, he said, has a sizeable base of Shiv Sena voters and they will remain with the party. Meanwhile, Kailas Patil, the Shiv Sena MLA from Osmanabad City, told The Indian Express, that he would be with Uddhav Thackeray. Patil also asked the next government to continue the work for the district that the previous government had sanctioned. “The MVA government had sanctioned and put on the rails many works for the district The issue of medical college, water works all were sanctioned. The new government should finish these works, else we will ensure they get finished,” he said. The MLA from Osmanabad had hit headlines when he had claimed to have made a daring escape from the rebel camp led by Eknath Shinde.
