Rising concerns in Sena (UBT) as defections pick up

As former MLAs Rajan Salvi and Subhash Bane jump ship, the Sena (UBT)’s lone MLA in the Konkan, Bhaskar Jadhav, warns that the party is in urgent need of revival

MUMBAI: The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena is steadily picking off leaders from the rival Shiv Sena (UBT) camp, deepening the crisis for a party struggling to hold its ground. On Saturday, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena (UBT) lost another leader, Subhash Bane, a second former MLA in almost as many days.

Rising concerns in Sena (UBT) as defections pick up

Bane, a former legislator from the Konkan, crossed over to the Sena at a rally held by Shinde in Ratnagiri, to thank the people for contributing to his party’s victory. Bane joined the Sena along with his son Rohan, who was the Sena (UBT)’s Sangameshwar tehsil chief, and a few other local leaders. Speaking at the rally, Shinde said, “In the Konkan, our strike rate was 95 per cent. They (Thackerays) must introspect on why people are leaving them.’’

Shinde chose his words carefully for the Sena (UBT) has been fast losing loyalists to the Shinde camp, in a campaign being dubbed as ‘Operation Tiger’. Demoralised ever since its dismal showing in the assembly elections last year, the Sena (UBT) had three MLAs in the Konkan even after Shinde split the party in 2022. However, it won only a single seat in last year’s assembly election. One of the two MLAs who lost the election, Rajan Salvi, joined the Sena on Thursday, while Subhash Bane hopped onto the Shinde bandwagon on Saturday.

Bhaskar Jadhav is the lone Sena (UBT) MLA from the coastal Konkan region, a stronghold of the undivided Sena. A six-time MLA from Ratnagiri district and the Sena (UBT) group leader in the assembly, Jadhav did not mince words when he told the media on Saturday that the party must discuss the large-scale desertion of its leaders.

“Attempts are being made to corner our party on all sides. One by one, leaders are being poached. As such, there should be a discussion on how to proceed. Balasaheb used to say that Sainiks are like embers who still have a fire within them. We have to galvanise them,” Jadhav said, a reference to the fact that no effort is being made to stop the exodus.

On the growing sense of complacency at the top, a senior Sena (UBT) leader from Mumbai said, “Rajan Salvi’s is the latest case. He was wary of the Anti-Corruption Bureau probe against him but had stayed with the party. He took the step (to defect) after Thackeray rebuffed him recently. Instead of placating him, the leadership took him to task for criticising Vinayak Raut, who is in charge of Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg districts.”

He said the disenchantment within the Sena (UBT) is growing, with local-level leaders seeing it as a now-or-never moment. “They are worried about their political future and yet the top leadership doesn’t seem to be taking steps to revive the organisation.”

The defections haven’t gone unnoticed by Thackeray. Taking a note of the desertions in the Konkan, the Sena (UBT) chief discussed the issue with senior party leaders at his residence, Matoshree, on Saturday evening, when they also discussed organisational matters, said a senior party leader. “Our leaders will soon travel to the Konkan and meet local leaders to reassure them,” he said.

Thackeray has also convened a meeting of party members from Rajan Salvi’s constituency, Rajapur, on Sunday. “We will be meeting Mumbaikars hailing from Rajapur on Sunday at Sena Bhavan, and our senior leaders are visiting the Konkan next week,” said senior Sena (UBT) leader Vinayak Raut.

The party leadership will have to do a lot more to shore up morale. Insiders say another former MLA from the Sena (UBT), Ganpat Kadam, is likely to join Shinde’s Sena soon. And there could be more trouble around the corner. Sena leader and Ratnagiri district guardian minister Uday Samant has extended an invitation to Bhaskar Jadhav, the Sena (UBT)’s only legislator from the Konkan, to join his party. “I will be happy if he joins us. We need his guidance,” Samant told the media.