Ahir Elected Unopposed As Maharashtra Council Deputy Chairman
The former MLA from Worli and was considered a close confidante of Aaditya Thackeray, which is why his exit from the party came as a shock to many.
Mumbai: Shiv Sena legislator Sachin Ahir was elected unopposed as the Deputy Chairman of the Maharashtra Legislative Council on Wednesday. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) candidate, J.M. Abhyankar of the Shiv Sena (UBT), withdrew his nomination following a request from Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandrakant Patil.
Mr. Ahir left the Uddhav Thackeray camp and joined hands with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena on Tuesday, and filed his nomination for the post.
Reacting to Mr. Ahir’s decision to switch sides, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said he suspected the MLC’s loyalties right from the beginning. “He left Sharad Pawar for the sake of his future career. Mr. Pawar had literally lifted him from the dust and taken him to the top. Making him a minister during that time was a very bold move. He was made the MHADA chairman, he was made a minister, and he was appointed as the NCP’s Mumbai president. Suddenly, catching Mr. Pawar and his family off guard, he joined the Shiv Sena. Because he did not stay loyal to Mr. Pawar, how could he ever be loyal to us? This question was always on my mind,” he said.
The former MLA from Worli and was considered a close confidante of Aaditya Thackeray, which is why his exit from the party came as a shock to many. After his debut stint with the Congress, Ahir eventually moved to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and later joined the undivided Shiv Sena.
A nephew of underworld don-turned-politician Arun Gawli, Mr. Ahir was a three-time MLA of undivided NCP and also served as a minister when the Congress-NCP alliance was in power from 1999-2014.
Mr. Raut said the party needs to introspect regarding the opportunities it gave to people who were not “original Shiv Sainiks”. “The party gave everything to Mr. Ahir. The six MPs who left also got everything. Eknath Shinde was given the highest positions in the party. His son’s medical qualifications are questionable. That is why Uddhav Thackeray made him an MP to give him an alternative career. Everyone who left with Eknath Shinde is a beneficiary of the Shiv Sena and Uddhav Thackeray. Those who were most likely to leave were given the maximum benefits. In politics, one should be able to judge a person’s true nature at a single glance,” the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader said.
Meanwhile, Uddhav’s cousin and president of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena Raj Thackeray criticised the BJP for breaking opposition parties and said the party would eventually face internal dissent. “Whenever those in power have destroyed their opponents, opponents have risen from within their own ranks, and then those very insiders have destroyed them. This exact process has now begun within the Bharatiya Janata Party,” he said.
The MNS chief further alleged that Union Home Minister Amit Shah was behind the ongoing political defections in order to fulfill his own prime ministerial ambition. “This is solely Amit Shah’s politics playing out. A few days ago, I had pointed out that six Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs, who defected, did not join the BJP. When TMC MPs split, they also formed a separate group. So when internal divisions within the BJP intensify, these MPs will not be bound by the BJP’s whip,” Raj said.