Narayan Rane comes out in support of Shinde MLA

Thackeray and Shinde camps are at odds over holding the October 5 rally at the Shivaji Park and have staked claim to it in separate applications filed before the BMC

Mumbai Following a tussle between the supporters of chief minister Eknath Shinde and Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday, uncertainty prevails over whether the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena will be able to hold its annual Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park.

Sarvankar, MLA from the Mahim constituency, allegedly fired a round during a clash between workers of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and Shinde camp early on Sunday, following which police registered a case against him and others. However, the charge has been denied by Sarvankar (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT PHOTO)

Meanwhile, wading into the battle between the Shiv Sena and the rival faction led by the chief minister, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Narayan Rane on Monday came out in support of Shinde faction MLA Sada Sarvankar, who has been accused of firing shots from his revolver on Sunday. Rane also claimed that Shinde would hold the annual Dussehra rally at the Shivaji Park grounds.

Sarvankar, MLA from the Mahim constituency, allegedly fired a round during a clash between workers of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and Shinde camp early on Sunday, following which police registered a case against him and others. However, the charge has been denied by Sarvankar.

Meanwhile, deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who holds charge of the home portfolio, said that the state government will probe the clash. “We will conduct a probe into this incident. This will be an impartial inquiry,” he added. In August, Prakash Surve, another dissident Shiv Sena MLA, had asked his supporters to take on Shiv Sainiks and attack them physically. Santosh Bangar, the rebel Shiv Sena MLA from Hingoli district, had assaulted a manager of a mid-day meal scheme for labourers for alleged lapses.

The Thackeray and Shinde camps are at odds over holding the October 5 rally at the Shivaji Park and have staked claim to it in separate applications filed before the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

The ground is the traditional location for the Shiv Sena’s rally on the day, which marks the culmination of the festival of Navratri. Considering the importance of this rally in the Shiv Sena’s iconography and lexicon, Shinde’s move is aimed at cementing his claim about his breakaway faction being the “real” Shiv Sena.

The Shinde group had earlier claimed it did not want to hold the public meeting there. Incidentally, Shinde’s volte-face on holding the rally came after Sena dissident Rane had called on him to hold the public meeting.

“The Shinde camp will hold the Dussehra rally and they will also get the Shiv Sena’s symbol,” claimed Rane. He also warned the Sena against any act of violence and said that the state government will not allow the law-and-order situation to deteriorate.