The newly-inducted Deputy State Chief in Shinde-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state government of Maharashtra -- Ajit Pawar -- may soon replace State Chief Eknath Shinde, claimed Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) faction on Monday.
In an editorial for its mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, the Uddhav Thackeray faction said that Ajit Pawar had made a record of taking the oath as deputy state chief, however, this time the “deal” is strong.
“Pawar has not gone there for the deputy state chief’s post. State Chief Eknath Shinde and rebel lawmakers of the Sena would be disqualified soon and Pawar would be coronated,” it claimed.
The Marathi daily further said that Pawar switching sides was actually dangerous for Shinde as the development would not go down well with the people of the state, and they would not support this gambit.
The newspaper said when Shinde, along with other lawmakers, left the Shiv Sena party, they had blamed the party president and (then) state chief Uddhav Thackeray for "not controlling Pawar who was the finance minister and had taken control over fund disbursement and sanctioning work orders but what will they do now?"
During the swearing-in ceremony, the expressions on the faces of the Shinde faction's members made it evident that their future is dark, the UBT faction claimed in the editorial.
"Their so-called Hindutva is now over. The day is not very far when Shinde and his rebel colleagues will be disqualified, [this] is the true meaning of Sunday's development," the Marathi publication further claimed.
Team Uddhav also lashed out at the BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, federal Home Minister Amit Shah, and the state's Deputy State Chief Devendra Fadnavis.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) mouthpiece claimed that under the leadership of Modi and Shah, BJP had “muddied” the politics of not only Maharashtra but of the country too.
Meanwhile, hitting out at Fadnavis, the newspaper claimed that he had said that the BJP would never join hands with NCP, “the party of corrupts” and Ajit Pawar was facing allegations in an irrigation scam worth INR 70 billion ($855 million) but the swearing-in has exposed the true face of the party.