Uddhav Thackeray to tour Konkan in damage control exercise

Amid the increasing defections from the Konkan region and reports of discontent in other areas regarding party functioning, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray will soon tour Konkan, a Shiv Sena bastion for decades.

MUMBAI: Amid the increasing defections from the Konkan region and reports of discontent in other areas regarding party functioning, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray will soon tour Konkan, a Shiv Sena bastion for decades. Along with this attempt at damage control, Thackeray has asked party leaders to meet every week to discuss and review party matters.

Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray leaves after casting vote for the assembly elections at a polling station in Mumbai. (PTI photo)

Deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde has been determinedly poaching leaders, former MLAs and former corporators from the Shiv Sena (UBT) across Maharashtra right from the first week of January. The success of the enterprise called ‘Operation Tiger’ is evident—many corporators from the Sena (UBT) left and joined Shinde last week, as did Rajan Salvi, former MLA from Rajapur in the Konkan region and former MLA Subhash Bane.

The spate of defections has led to speculation about other leaders like senior MLA Bhaskar Jadhav and former Kudal MLA Vaibhav Naik leaving the party shortly. It is against this worrying backdrop that Thackeray has decided to visit Konkan. He has also asked local leaders to establish a dialogue with old party workers and rebuild the organisation with new and young faces.

Amid the reports of his possible defection on account of an inquiry against him by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Naik met Thackeray on Monday. On Tuesday, while speaking with the media, he said this was their first meeting since the assembly election results. “I discussed party matters with him,” he said. “Thackeray told me that he would soon visit Konkan. He has decided to rebuild the party in the region with new and young faces. At the same time, he has asked us to establish a dialogue with old loyalist party workers in Konkan.”

Naik said that he had apprised Thackeray about the inquiry against him by the ACB, and insisted that he would remain with the party. “I am not going anywhere and will not leave Thackeray,” he said, adding that many leaders in the Sena (UBT) organisation wanted to work for the party and were waiting for an opportunity.

Thackeray has also asked party leaders to hold a weekly meeting to discuss and review party matters. The first such meeting was held on Tuesday at Shiv Sena Bhavan. Party leaders, including MLA Bhaskar Jadhav who was rumoured to be upset, attended and discussed the current defections across Maharashtra and possible ways of preventing the exodus.

“It was a meeting to discuss party matters and organisational strengthening,” said Ambadas Danve, leader of the opposition in the legislative council. “We will hear out anyone who has complaints about injustice being done to him or any other party issue. But if someone decides to leave the party even after getting all the opportunities and posts, no one can stop him.”