Rift In INDIA Bloc: Uddhav’s Sena To Go Solo In Maharashtra Civic Polls

In a blow to the INDIA Bloc in Maharashtra, the Uddhav faction of Shiv Sena on Saturday announced that it would go solo and fight the municipal corporation elections in Mumbai, Thane, Nagpur and other municipal corporations, zilla parishads and panchayats without forging any alliance. Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut said that workers of individual parties don’t get opportunities in an alliance. He claimed this hampers organisational growth. “We will contest on our strength,” he reportedly said.

Raut also mentioned that they were unable to even appoint a convener for the INDIA bloc in Maharashtra. “As the largest party of the alliance, it was the Congress’s responsibility to convene a meeting,” Raut said, as quoted by India Today.

Udhav’s Sena is part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance that was founded in 2019. The grand alliance was formed under the leadership of Uddhav Thackeray of the Shiv Sena (UBT), Sharad Pawar of the NCP(SP) and Sonia Gandhi of the Congress. It came into existence after Uddhav quit the NDA alliance. The MVA alliance, along with other regional parties like Trinamool Congress and DMK, came together to form the INDIA bloc to contest the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

Raut also claimed that there wasn’t a single meeting of the INDIA bloc after last yeat’s LS polls. Meanwhile, the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) supremo Prakash Ambedkar claimed that Uddhav’s decision to go solo was taken in the interest of his son Aaditya.