Meet the ex-MLA who claims he was the genesis of the Sena revolt

Friends with all, Vijay Shivtare finds few backers for his claims of encouraging Eknath Shinde to split the Sena, exit the MVA.

Vijay Shivtare claimed to have approached Eknath Shinde soon after Uddhav Thackeray entered into the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance with the NCP and Congress, forming the government with them. (Photo: Vijay Shivtare/ Twitter)

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Former Maharashtra minister Vijay Shivtare, 63, is known for friends across party lines. Lately though, proximity to him has left several red faces in the state.

On Sunday, the leader belonging to the Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena claimed to have sowed the first seeds of dissension in Eknath Shinde’s mind, leading to his defection from the Uddhav Thackeray group and eventual rise to power with the BJP’s help. Shivtare also claimed that while still an ally of the BJP before the 2019 Assembly elections, Uddhav had already opened channels of communication with the NCP and Congress. Thus, Shivtare said, the Sena had actually worked against the BJP on several seats, causing its defeat.

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The former minister claimed to have approached Shinde soon after Uddhav entered into the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance with the NCP and Congress, and they formed the government. “I went to Shinde’s residence and we had a four-and-a-half hour meeting. I conveyed to him that the Shiv Sena cannot have an alliance with the Congress and NCP. It was not correct, that we have to withdraw and join hands with the BJP.”

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Shivtare had won from Purandar Assembly seat in the 2014 elections, and was made the Minister of State, Water Resources and Water Conservation, by then Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in the BJP-Sena government. He was known to enjoy excellent relations with Fadnavis. In 2019, he lost the seat to the Congress’s Sanjay Jagtap, perhaps one reason for his rancour against the party. The Sena had then appointed him as the party spokesperson, in recognition of his articulation skills in the Assembly.

Shivtare says that even as he represented the official party line, he was never in favour of the Sena’s alliance with the Congress and NCP, “parties it had fought against in elections for decades”.

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Interestingly though, Shivtare was not among the first batch of Sena leaders who left the party with Shinde. It was a month after the revolt in June that Uddhav had expelled Shivtare from the party, accusing him of “anti-party activities”. Soon after, Shivtare had joined the Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena camp.

A businessman referred to by his supporters as “Bapu”, Shivtare has interests in dairy, construction and fisheries. He was first handpicked by the then united Sena for the 2009 Assembly elections, from Purandar seat, and won.

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Criticising Shivtare’s claims, Uddhav Sena leader Kirti Pathak said: “What can one expect from a person who has been disloyal to his own family? The less said the better… He is admitting his own sins.”

Uddhav Sena leader Sanjay Raut said, “Those taking pride in walking out of the Shiv Sena will soon realise their blunder. They will be nowhere… And those talking credit for splitting the Sena will also realise their misfortune.”

Shinde Sena spokesperson Deepak Kesarkar said Shivtare was right in expressing his displeasure at the alliance with the Congress and NCP as “it is a fact that nobody in the Shiv Sena was happy with it. “The Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena is the result of the unrest within the Sena.” As to what Shivtare discussed with Shinde, Kesarkar said: “What exactly they talked about remains between the two of them.”