Maharashtra Politics: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday (January 12) said that his party wants to contest the local body elections alone to strengthen its base. However, Raut’s tone now seems to be changing. Raut, who fought the BMC elections alone and attacked the Congress, appeared soft on Sunday (January 12). He said that the party has formed the opposition alliance India or Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) There was never a demand to dissolve it. Raut’s comment came a day after he had mentioned “not getting opportunities for workers of parties involved in any alliance and the right to organizational development as the main reasons for contesting elections alone.”
This had raised a question mark on the unity of the opposition alliance. Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Raut said, “MVA was formed for the assembly elections and ‘India’ alliance was formed for the Lok Sabha elections. The local body elections are to empower the party workers and strengthen the organization at the grassroots level.” Have taken.” Rajya Sabha member Raut said, “I or my party never said that the ‘India’ alliance or MVA should be dissolved.”
The INDIA block and the MVA alliance includes Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (SCP). Asked about Congress leaders criticizing him over his plan to go solo in the elections, Raut said Congress party members should hear his entire remarks before reacting.
took a jibe at Congress
“Congress leaders should develop the habit of listening to others,” he said, according to PTI. Raut said Shiv Sena (UBT) wants to ensure that its burning torch (election) symbol reaches the voters at the grassroots level. He said that MVA allies should now work at the booth level to strengthen their parties and their workers.
“We have time as there are four and a half years left for the next Lok Sabha and Maharashtra Assembly elections,” the Shiv Sena leader said. Asked about NCP (Sharad Chandra Pawar) chief Sharad Pawar’s discussion with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to bring peace in Beed and Parbhani, Raut said Maharashtra is shocked after the results of the assembly elections. He said, “Peace cannot come by giving protection to the murderers of Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh and Somnath Suryavanshi.”
Politics over the murder of Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh
A round of allegations and counter-allegations has begun between the ruling and opposition parties in the state over the brutal murder of Santosh Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Masajog village in Beed district, on December 9, as one of the persons arrested in the related extortion case is a state minister. He is a close associate of Dhananjay Munde.
The incident has sparked widespread protests in the state and fears of caste conflict have also arisen as Deshmukh belongs to the Maratha community while some of those arrested in the case are from the Vanjari community. Violence had erupted on the evening of December 10 after a replica of the Constitution near the statue of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar was damaged outside the railway station of Parbhani city in the Marathwada region.
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Suryavanshi (35), a resident of Parbhani, was among more than 50 people who were arrested in connection with the violence. According to police, Suryavanshi, who was kept in judicial custody in Parbhani District Central Jail, was taken to the government hospital after complaining of chest pain and uneasiness, where he died on December 15.
In the November 2024 assembly elections, the ruling Mahayuti alliance of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) had won 230 out of 288 seats in the state. At the same time, MVA was reduced to 46 seats. MVA constituents Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and NCP (Sharad Chandra Pawar) won 20, 16 and 10 seats respectively.