Fresh attempts aimed at finishing off Shiv Sena: Uddhav

Mumbai, Aug 03: Attempts had been made in the past to split Shiv Sena but the fresh ones are aimed at finishing off the party, Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray said on Wednesday.

Addressing the party workers at his residence 'Matoshree' here, Thackeray said he had full faith in the judiciary. A faction led by Thackeray had moved the Supreme Court seeking disqualification of the rebel MLAs led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The apex court on Wednesday asked the faction led by Shinde to redraft his submissions on petitions filed by the rival Thackeray group on constitutional issues arising due to the recent political crisis in Maharashtra.

“Earlier, attempts were made to split the Shiv Sena but now the attempts are being made to finish off the party,” Thackeray said.

He was apparently referring to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president J P Nadda's comments that in the times to come only an ideology-driven party like the BJP will survive, while others (parties) ruled by families will perish. Thackeray had also alleged that the search conducted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) at Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut's residence on Sunday was part of a "conspiracy" to finish off the party.

The Shiv Sena, founded by Bal Thackeray in 1966, had seen the exit of powerful leaders in the past. However, the party witnessed its worst rebellion in June when 40 of 55 MLA aligned with senior Sena leader Eknath Shinde, leading to the collapse of the Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MA) government.