Aaditya slams Sena (UBT) rebels, says they abandoned poll mandate for 'greed'

Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray on Monday hit out at dissident MPs, claiming voters had rejected NDA candidates in their constituencies and backed the INDIA bloc, but “greed” led them to "shamelessly" abandon that mandate overnight. In a post on X, Thackeray further charged that the dissidents’ loyalty and reputation were up for sale, while accusing the government of bias and misusing public funds for political purposes. In a setback to Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, six of his party's nine Lok Sabha members have rebelled, with two of them confirming their switch to the ruling Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

"All of the ones that are jumping over now were elected on the platforms of the MVA and the INDIA, against the NDA. All of them had leaders from Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and NCP (SP) campaigning for them - each one asked for rallies from leaders of all parties and allies," Aaditya Thackeray said. "The voters voted against the NDA candidates and for INDIA in your constituencies and for all it stands for. Just accept that your greed got you to ditch all of it overnight, shamelessly," he said. Of the six Sena (UBT) MPs who have rebelled, Nagesh Patil Ashtikar and Omprakash Rajenimbalkar on Sunday confirmed their crossover, citing various reasons, including a fund crunch. The rebellion has raised fresh questions about former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray's ability to hold his party together for future political battles.