Uddhav must speak to BJP for any possible patch up says team Shinde

New Delhi, July 08: Rebel Shiv Sena MLAs have aligned with the BJP in Maharashtra and if there is any possibility of reconciliation with the parent party, then Sena president Uddhav Thackeray should talk to the party's estranged ally, a spokesperson of the dissident faction said on Thursday, news agency PTI reported.

Deepak Kesarkar, who has been speaking to the media on behalf of the rebel faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, also targeted Sena MP and chief spokesman Sanjay Raut without naming him, news agency PTI reported.

In an oblique reference to Mr Raut, who has been making harsh comments against the rebel MLAs, Mr Kesarkar said Mr Thackeray should keep a "little aside" the people responsible for the revolt in the party.

"We and the BJP have come together. So there is a new family now. If we have to go back to the old family, then we are not alone. The BJP is with us. When he (Thackeray) calls us, he also has to talk to the BJP and bless us," Mr Kesarkar told reporters.

He was responding to a question on whether the rebel group will go back to the parent party if Mr Thackeray, a former CM, asks them to do so.

Forty of the 55 Shiv Sena MLAs have joined the rebel camp led by Chief Minister Shinde. The MLAs had urged Mr Thackeray to sever ties with the NCP and the Congress and align with the BJP.

The NCP and the Congress were part of the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government which collapsed last month after a section of the Sena MLAs revolted against the party leadership. The Shiv Sena snapped ties with its long-standing ally BJP and joined hands with the NCP and the Congress in November 2019.

On June 30, Shinde took oath as the new CM with Devendra Fadnavis of the BJP as his deputy.