Rebel MLA after explosive letter to Uddhav: 'Cong, NCP trying to eliminate Sena'

Rebel Shiv Sena MLA from Aurangabad, Sanjay Shirsat, claimed that the party MLAs had informed the Maharashtra chief minister that the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party were "trying to eliminate Sena".

Hours after his explosive letter to Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray created ripples amid an ongoing crisis in the state, rebel Shiv Sena MLA from Aurangabad, Sanjay Shirsat, stepped up his attack on allies of the party - the Congress and Sharad Pawar's NCP. He claimed that the party MLAs had informed the Maharashtra chief minister that the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party were "trying to eliminate Sena".

Sanjay Shirsat, who is part of Eknath Shinde's camp in Assam's Guwahati, dropped a bombshell with his letter to Uddhav Thackeray where he claimed that Sena MLAs did not have access to the chief minister's residence. (ANI Photo)

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Speaking to news agency ANI, Shirsat said, “Numerous times the MLAs sought time from Uddhav Ji to meet him but he never met them.” He added that in any constituency of Shiv Sena, no official from the Tehsildar to the revenue officer was appointed in consultation with the MLA. “We told this to Uddhav Ji many times but he never responded,” Shirsat further said.

Shirsat, who is part of Eknath Shinde's camp in Assam's Guwahati, dropped a bombshell with his letter to Uddhav Thackeray where he claimed that Sena MLAs did not have access to the chief minister's residence. "The chief minister never used to be in the Secretariat, instead, he used to be in Matoshree (Thackeray family home). We used to call people around the chief minister but they never used to attend our calls. We were fed up with all these things and persuaded Eknath Shinde to take this step," Shirsat wrote in his letter.

“We came with our problems in our constituencies and other work but were made to remain outside for hours together. Eknath Shinde was on the other hand accessible. We stood at the gates of 'Varsha' for hours. It was only Eknath Shinde who supported us,” the letter read.

Shirsat also alleged that those around chief minister Thackeray - dubbed as the 'coterie' - used to decide if Sena leaders could meet him or not.

The rebel MLA also pointed out that both the Congress and the NCP got opportunities to meet the CM and even got funds related to work in their constituencies.

Eknath Shinde, who is leading the revolt against Uddhav Thackeray and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra, has 37 MLAs in his support and will likely form a new political grouping swearing allegiance to the legacy of Bal Thackeray.

Shinde's camp strength could climb to 50, ANI reported on Friday. He has said that while the NCP and the Congress were growing stronger in ruling the alliance, the Shiv Sena, which is heading the governing bloc, was getting systematically weakened.

(With inputs from ANI)