Uddhav Thackeray has Congress's votebank, Sena voters with us: Eknath Shinde

Maharashtra Election: Speaking to India Today TV, Eknath Shinde launched a scathing attack on Uddhav Thackeray, accusing the former Chief Minister of banking on Congress's vote bank in the Maharashtra Assembly elections.

In Short

• Eknath Shinde says Uddhav Thackeray's Lok Sabha success due to Congress
• Asserts Mahayuti alliance remains united for Maharashtra Assembly polls
• Accuses Shiv Sena (UBT) of abandoning Balasaheb Thackeray's ideology

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde launched a scathing attack on Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday, accusing him of relying on Congress's vote bank for the upcoming Assembly elections. Shinde also dismissed allegations of a split within the ruling Mahayuti alliance, asserting that their focus remains on securing a decisive victory in the polls.

Speaking to India Today TV, Shinde said that Shiv Sena (UBT)'s marginal success in the recent Lok Sabha elections was due to Congress's support rather than its own strength.

"Uddhav Thackeray has Congress's vote bank. Their slight surge in the Lok Sabha elections was entirely because of Congress. The base voters of Shiv Sena are with us," the Chief Minister said.

Highlighting voting statistics, Shinde said, "In the general elections, Maharashtra voters made their stance clear. Their strike rate was 42 per cent, while ours was 48 per cent. Of the 19 per cent vote share Shiv Sena received, 13 per cent was ours. This is evident from their failure to secure seats in Konkan, Thane, and Sambhaji Nagar. Similar outcomes will be reflected in the Assembly elections.”

Responding to Uddhav Thackeray's claim that Shinde "stole" Shiv Sena, the Chief Minister pointed to ideological differences. "Balasaheb Thackeray is the ideological cornerstone of Maharashtra. Although Uddhav is his son, he abandoned Balasaheb’s principles by aligning with Congress, the very party Balasaheb vowed never to associate with. Uddhav compromised the mandate given by the people to the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance for personal gains," he said.

The Chief Minister further criticised the Shiv Sena (UBT) chief's leadership, saying, "He sidelined his father's ideology just to become Chief Minister. He is not even entitled to use Balasaheb Thackeray's name".

Speaking about the discussion surrounding the next Chief Minister if Mahayuti -- comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena (Ekanth Shinde) and the NCP (Ajit Pawar) -- wins the Maharashtra polls, Shinde said that there was no race for the post within the ruling alliance.

"There is no race for the Chief Minister post in Mahayuti. Our only focus is to bring back Mahayuti in Maharashtra with a thumping majority. Actually, the real race for the CM post is in Maha Vikas Aghadi, who are running from Delhi to 'gully' (lanes) for power," Shinde said.

The 288-member Maharashtra Assembly will go to polls in a single phase on November 20. Counting of votes will take place on November 23.