Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut still hopeful that rebel MLAs will return back

Mumbai, July 05: Senior Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Tuesday expressed confidence that the rebel MLAs would come back and that the party would win 100 seats in the mid-term polls.

"We are confident of winning 100 seats as Shivsena. Uddhav Thackeray had said let's have mid-term polls and everything will be clear. who will win and who will lose," Raut told news agency ANI.

Raut also took a dig at CM Eknath Shinde saying that no one can hijack Shiv Sena as it is Bala Saheb Thackeray's party.

'Shiv Sena is Baba Thackeray's. Cannot be anyone else's. You cannot hijack it through money. CM Mamata Banerjee has said, not just money but something else was also given. It will be a big expose when this 'something' is revealed," Raut said.

He also claimed that the rebel Shiv Sena MLAs, who are currently with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, will return to the original party very soon.

"We are still hopeful that these MLAs will return back... We were always in talks with rebels... They are our people, will come back,'" Sanjay Raut said.

On Monday, Uddhav Thackeray alleged it was the BJP's ploy to finish his party, and challenged it to hold mid-term elections in the state.

"This is BJP's ploy to end the Shiv Sena, I dare them to hold mid-term polls in the state. Instead of playing all these games, we will go to the court of people. If we are wrong, people of the state will send us home and if you (BJP and Shinde group) are wrong, people will send you home," the statement said quoting Thackeray.

Last month, Eknath Shinde launched a rebellion against the Sena. The majority of MLAs sided with him, which led to the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government led by Uddhav Thackeray.

Shinde was sworn in as the chief minister on June 30. BJP's Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as the deputy CM.