Lone MNS MLA, Sharad Sonawane joins Shiv Sena
Mumbai, Mar 11: Five years after quitting the Shiv Sena, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's (MNS) lone MLA, Sharad Sonawane from Junnar in Pune, on Monday joined Shiv Sena.
Sonawane, along with his supporters, joined Sena in presence of party president Uddhav ThackerayJunnar assembly segment is part of Shirur Lok Sabha constituency, which is currently represented by Sena MP Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil.
Apparently unhappy with the MNS, he met Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray last week along with some supporters. "He explained the situation on the ground and said that he would join the Sena.
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However, his re-entry into the Sena wouldn't be a cakewalk for him as the party's workers in Junnar have put up a stiff opposition to him.
Known
for
his
organisational
skills,
Sonawane
is
a
businessman
who
became
socially
and
politically
active
about
nine
years
before
joining
the
Sena
in
the
early
oughties.
Even
though
he
was
made
the
ena
district
vicepresident,
owing
to
his
differences
with
the
party
MP
and
other
local
leaders,
he
was
denied
a
ticket
in
the
last
assembly
election.
The
Sena
instead
fielded
his
longtime
rival
Ashatai
Buchke.
This
upset
Sonawane
and
just
before
of
the
poll,
he
joined
the
MNS.
Sonawane went on to defeat Buchke by a margin of nearly 17,000 votes.
Sonawane's exit will be a big blow to the MNS. The party, which had 13 MLAs in 2009, lost all but one seats in 2014.