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Former Senate member of Yuva Sena (UBT) defects to Shinde faction
Former Yuva Sena member Praveen Patkar has joined the Shinde faction ahead of the University of Mumbai Senate election, following in the footsteps of another former Senate member, Vaibhav Thorat. The university recently announced that it would postpone the election due to allegations of errors in the voter list. Patkar cited dissatisfaction with the work culture of the Yuva Sena as his reason for switching factions.
Mumbai: After the final list of 10 candidates by various political parties for the University of Mumbai (MU) Senate election’s registered graduate group was unveiled on Friday night, Praveen Patkar, a former senate member of the Yuva Sena (UBT), jumped ship to align with the Shinde faction. Last month, another former Senate member, Vaibhav Thorat, also joined forces with the Shinde faction.
Patkar and Thorat are likely to be future candidates for the Senate election under the graduate constituency from the Shinde faction. Until MU decided to stay out of the Senate election until further notice, the Shinde faction had not declared a single candidate from their end.
The university announced late on Thursday night that it would halt the Senate election of registered graduate groups scheduled for September 10, sparking outrage among student wings of political parties. The decision was taken based on BJP leader Ashish Shelar’s allegations that there were errors in the voter list.
As per the earlier schedule, Friday was the last day for the graduate group candidates to submit their application forms. The Yuva Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Vidyarthi Sena (MNVS) declared a list of 10 candidates each for the 10 seats. After the list was out, Patkar’s name was not on the list. Upset, he decided to move out of Yuva Sena (UBT).
At the time of joining Shinde’s party in the presence of MP Shrikant Shinde, Patkar said, “I decided to join the Shinde-led Yuva Sena, as I was not satisfied with the work culture of the Yuva Sena and Sena (UBT). I wanted to work for the welfare of MU students.” Patkar served as an elected graduate senator from 2017 to 2022, and raised his voice on MU’s technological issues.
A member of the Shinde-led Yuva Sena said, “Many more members from the Yuva Sena (UBT) are interested in joining the Shinde-led Shiv Sena. To date, many young party workers of the Shiv Sena (UBT) have joined our party for better prospects.”
Meanwhile, Yuva Sena (UBT) member Pradeep Sawant said, “Patkar joined the Yuva Sena (UBT) only in 2010. A party worker who has closely seen Balasaheb Thackeray, Uddhav Thackeray, and Aaditya Thackeray since his childhood never leaves the party. We have a force of dedicated Yuva Sena members.”
