Team Uddhav Leader's Divide And Rule Dig At BJP Over Ajit Pawar Switch

Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut on Wednesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of resorting to the policy of "divide and rule" and engineering a split in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) now and in the Shiv Sena last year in Maharashtra.

Seeking to make light of the NCP leader Ajit Pawar breaking away from the Sharad Pawar-led party, he said the Opposition Maha Vikas Agahdi (MVA) will nevertheless go ahead strongly in the state.

Ajit Pawar joined the Eknath Shinde-BJP government as deputy chief minister along with eight other MLAs of his camp on July 2, dealing a blow to the Opposition bloc, which comprises the Congress, the NCP (Pawar faction) and the Shiv Sena (UBT).

Sanjay Raut, a bitter critic of the BJP, said Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray spoke to the senior Pawar over the phone, while Congress leaders met him on Tuesday to express their support after the split in his party.

He said "Delhi's Sultan", a reference to the BJP, is enjoying the political game in Maharashtra, while Marathas, the most dominant social group in the state, are fighting among themselves, alluding to upheaval in the Shiv Sena last year and in the NCP now.

"Divide and rule is the BJP's policy. They engineered a split in the Shiv Sena and a party which was like a family was pitted against each other. Ajit Pawar has been pitted against Sharad Pawar. Divide and rule was a British policy," Sanjay Raut said.

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The Shiv Sena suffered a split last year year when its senior leader Eknath Shinde, along with more than three dozen MLAs, rebelled against the leadership of Uddhav Thackeray. Shinde later joined hands with the BJP and became chief minister.