Daijiworld Media Network – Mumbai

Mumbai, Jul 18: In a sharp attack on Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday accused him of betraying his former ally, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, after the 2019 state assembly elections.

While replying to the opposition's motion in the legislative council, Shinde refrained from naming Thackeray directly but recalled how Fadnavis made “40-50 calls” following the assembly results, which saw the undivided Shiv Sena-BJP alliance securing a majority. “There was no response to his calls,” Shinde remarked.

"Maharashtra has never seen a chameleon changing colours so quickly. He joined hands with those he once looked down upon," Shinde said, taking a veiled dig at Thackeray’s post-poll alliance with the Congress and NCP in 2019, which ultimately formed the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

Shinde also recounted how in 2017, it was at his request that Fadnavis agreed to let Shiv Sena have the Mumbai mayor's post, despite the BJP coming close in the civic polls. "But he repaid that goodwill by betraying Fadnavis two years later,” he said.

In a surprising revelation, Shinde claimed that during the 2022 political crisis, when he and rebel Shiv Sena MLAs were stationed in Guwahati, Thackeray had reached out to him for a patch-up. “At the same time, he was urging BJP leaders in Delhi not to back us,” Shinde alleged.

The attack comes a day after Thackeray met Chief Minister Shinde, raising eyebrows across political circles. It also follows Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis’ recent light-hearted remark in the House, inviting Thackeray to join the ruling alliance.