Yavatmal (Maharashtra), June 27 (SocialNews.XYZ) Breaking his silence on the intense political speculation gripping Maharashtra, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday dropped a major hint regarding his unexpected, high-profile co-passenger on a recent commercial flight.
On Friday, Thackeray, along with senior party leaders including Aaditya Thackeray, Sanjay Raut, and Anil Desai, travelled from Mumbai to Nagpur on the same commercial plane as Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
The mid-air encounter between the fierce political rivals sparked widespread rumours across the state's political circles.
Addressing the media during his tour in Yavatmal on Saturday, Thackeray hinted at deeper developments. "We had a high-level discussion with the Chief Minister on the flight," Thackeray revealed, sending a clear wave of anticipation across the political landscape.
"The full report of yesterday's meeting and whatever has been decided will become clear in the coming days." He reiterated that details of their "high-level discussion" would emerge soon.
Thackeray's remarks came during his high-stakes tour of the Washim-Yavatmal constituency—the home ground of rebel leader Sanjay Deshmukh.
This marks Thackeray's first major grassroots outreach since six Lok Sabha MPs split from the Shiv Sena (UBT) faction to join Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s led Shiv Sena.
Thackeray maintained a sharp but witty posture during the Press interaction. Commenting on the heavy media glare, he joked, "When the camera goes up, it hits the eyes and draws tears. Then people claim Uddhav Thackeray became emotional!"
Taking the battle directly to the turncoat lawmakers, Thackeray fiercely rejected their claims that they switched sides due to a lack of development funds. He alleged that the "funds" the rebels spoke of were actually financial inducements for engineering the split.
Recalling the infamous "50 Khoke" (Rs 50 crore) slogan that targeted defecting MLAs during the previous government collapse, Thackeray quipped, “Even during the Bail Pola festival in Vidarbha, people wrote those slogans on the bulls. The MLAs got Rs 50 crore back then; now imagine how much these MPs must have received."
He reminded the defecting leaders that they owed their political careers to his backing. "These MPs were elected only because I toured for them. They won entirely on my word, and back then, the Opposition was made to sit at home. Now they are shouting, but they forget they won because of my campaign," he asserted.
The former Chief Minister stated that his extensive tour is meant to reconnect with the fiercely loyal, hardcore Shiv Sainiks (party workers) and to issue an apology to the voters.
"The voters chose these candidates blindly, looking only at the face of the Shiv Sena and the Sena Supremo (Balasaheb Thackeray), without scrutinizing the candidates' backgrounds," Thackeray said. "I am going out to meet the voters and apologize to them for what happened."
Announcing a grassroots outreach campaign to counter the damage from the latest round of defections, Thackeray added, "Starting today, I am going to meet my hardcore, loyal Shiv Sainiks in the constituencies of these traitors. I am going to apologize to the voters who elected these defectors simply by looking at the face of the Shiv Sena supremo (Balasaheb Thackeray) and our symbol, the flaming torch (Mashal)."
Responding to critics questioning the timing of his tour, he remarked, "When these MPs won, it was because I toured and gave them my word. To those screaming from the top of their lungs that this tour is useless, I say the MPs who won on our backing get a guaranteed price (bribes), while our farmers receive no Minimum Support Price (MSP) at all."
Thackeray also took a sharp swipe at standard political behaviours, slamming the rising use of abusive language and misbehavior toward journalists, naming Lok Sabha MP Sanjay Dina Patil during his critique. "Abuse is not the culture of Maharashtra. It is shameful to see how some people stayed with us while wearing masks," he remarked.
Condemning the misbehaviour against media personnel, Thackeray expressed dismay over the conduct of the leaders who recently left his camp. "Shiv Sainiks and journalists are with me. We have all been witnessing the kind of language being used over the last few days. I feel ashamed that these people stayed with me under a guise. Treating journalists with such disrespect does not suit our culture. One can express anger, but abusing people is not the culture of Maharashtra," Thackeray stated.
Source: IANS
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