Mumbai: Uddhav Offers To Quit As Shiv Sena (UBT) Chief; Rejects Congress Merger Claims

“I was ready to face any challenge as long as I had the support of Shiv Sainiks. But if you don’t have trust in me, I am willing to step down. Till I am here, I will fight like a strong mountain,” Uddhav told party workers while addressing the gathering at Shiv Sena’s 60th foundation day in Mumbai.

His remarks came after six of his nine Lok Sabha MPs skipped a parliamentary party meeting in New Delhi, fuelling speculation that they may split from the party and join the ruling alliance.

However, Uddhav asserted that the party workers were not demoralised by the defection of six MPs and remained ‘fired up.’ Calling the rebel MPs ‘traitors,’ he also urged the party workers to question them about their treachery. “You did the hard work and got them elected. So why are you giving up the right to ask questions? You are not exercising your right to question them,” he said.

Uddhav also apologized to party supporters for the defection of MPs. “I apologise to voters who in 2024 voted for Lok Sabha MPs who have now defected. We had not used the face of (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi. But still, people voted for us,” he added.

Dismissing the claims of rebel MPs that Shiv Sena (UBT) could merge with Congress, Uddhav said, “If we did not merge with the BJP after being with them for 30 years, why would we merge with the Congress? The Shiv Sena was not born to merge with others; it was formed for the cause of Hindutva and the rights of the Marathi people.”

Accusing the BJP of trying to destroy the Shiv Sena, Uddhav said the grand old party was much better than the BJP. “Congress also poached a few leaders from us but never made them CM. Congress never tried to tarnish the image of Maharashtra,” he said.

The former Maharashtra Chief Minister alleged that the country is heading towards anarchy due to BJP’s politics and called on opposition parties to carry out their own version of ‘Operation Lotus’ to fight the saffron party.

Earlier in the day, Uddhav’s son and Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray attacked the rebel MPs, describing them as “shameless, ungrateful, and corrupt individuals” who had betrayed the people responsible for their electoral victories.

In a post on X, Aaditya said Maharashtra will not tolerate this filthy politics.

“Once again, we are witnessing a shocking example of filthy politics. These shameless, ungrateful, and corrupt individuals who won in 2024 because of certain people are now betraying them. No matter how many excuses they gave, the truth is that they have shamelessly sold themselves out,” Aaditya said.