‘They’ll have to merge with BJP’: Uddhav faction rules out unification with Shinde Sena

Raut said there was no possibility of the two Shiv Sena factions uniting. “Their 16 MLAs are going to be soon disqualified by the Supreme Court. There has been a delay in getting the verdict. But we are confident that once the hearing in the case starts, the verdict will come soon and the 16 MLAs (of the Shinde Sena) will be disqualified,” he said.

Raut said they would have then no option but to merge with the BJP. “We cannot join hands with such people…They will have to merge with the BJP. And that is what their plan is,” he said.

Raut also said that the Shinde-led Sena, not Thackeray, had to introspect. “They will have to introspect about their existence. Soon their faction will disappear into oblivion,” he said.

On the Sena split, Kesarkar said on January 1, “Those who fought for the thoughts of Balasaheb Thackeray cannot leave the Shiv Sena easily. Something drastic must have happened that led to the MLAs’ exit.”