According to reports, Salvi will formally join the party on Thursday afternoon in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Mumbai: Former MLA Rajan Salvi, who lost the 2024 election, on Wednesday resigned from the post of deputy leader of Shiv Sena (UBT). He is likely to join the Eknath Shinde faction of Shiv Sena on Thursday. According to sources, Salvi was upset with Uddhav Thackeray confidant and former MP Vinayak Raut, who also lost in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
After his defeat in the state assembly election, Salvi met Uddhav Thackeray and conveyed his dissatisfaction with Shiv Sena (UBT) leadership, particularly with senior leader Vinayak Raut. He alleged that some Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders worked to defeat him in the election.
In a letter to Mr. Thackeray on Wednesday, Mr. Salvi said he takes moral responsibility for his defeat in the assembly polls. “In the prevailing circumstances and amid the internal politics within the organisation, I won't be able to do justice to my post. Accepting moral responsibility for my defeat, I am resigning as the deputy leader of the party,” he wrote in the letter.
According to reports, Salvi will formally join the party on Thursday afternoon in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Apart from Shiv Sena (UBT)’s internal rivalry, Salvi was also under pressure because of the anti-corruption bureau inquiry over the allegations of disproportionate assets against him. During his campaign, he voiced concerns over financial hardships after his accounts were frozen. He was defeated by Shiv Sena’s Kiran Samant from the Rajapur assembly constituency in Ratnagiri district.
Former Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg MP Raut claimed that Salvi is joining the Shinde faction after he got a cold shoulder from the BJP. “After his defeat, Salvi started talking about the BJP. But the people in BJP did not respond. He had called Shinde a traitor, and now he wants to join him. He can do anything for his own selfish goals,” Raut said.
Shinde said that many people from the Thackeray faction and other parties want to join the Shiv Sena. “Those who want to join are welcome. In the last two and a half years, many MPs, MLAs and corporators have joined the Shiv Sena which runs on the ideals of Balasaheb Thackeray,” he said.
After Shinde orchestrated a vertical split in Shiv Sena, several office-bearers, workers, and former corporators from across the state have joined him. The defections from the Uddhav Thackeray faction have increased particularly after his party’s dismal performance in the Assembly election, when it won only 20 seats in the 288-member Assembly.
