Anurag Kumar
The president of the Shiv Sena (UBT), Uddhav Thackeray, stated on Wednesday, when re-admitting former Shirdi MP Bhausaheb Wakchaure into the party, that the party could absolve those who had committed errors but would never pardon sinners.
“Bhausaheb acknowledged his error and expressed regret for it. He departed the party without ever attempting to harm it. We in Shiv Sena can forgive errors, but not those who are attempting to destroy the party. Thackeray stated, presumably in allusion to chief minister Eknath Shinde and his supporting MPs and MLAs, that party workers would teach them a lesson in the upcoming elections.
Wakchaure stated, “We will once again strengthen the party in Shirdi, Maharashtra, and across the country.”
Wakchaure served as Shiv Sena MP for Shirdi between 2009 and 2014. Then he shifted to the Congress and ran for a Lok Sabha seat, but lost to Sadashiv Lokhande of the Sena. In the subsequent six months, he defected to the BJP, ran for the Shrirampur assembly seat in Ahmednagar district, and lost to Bhausaheb Kamble of the Congress. With the addition of Lokhande to the Shinde contingent, the Thackeray faction is likely to nominate Wakchaure from Shirdi in the upcoming Lok Sabha election.
Thackeray added that he would shortly visit Shirdi to seek Sai Baba’s blessings and would also hold a public rally there. There will be a transition of power in Maharashtra and at the centre in the upcoming elections.
Thackeray has accelerated preparations for the Lok Sabha election and will convene a meeting of all party tehsil chiefs on September 2 in Mumbai. In 2019, his party won 18 seats, but 13 of them transferred allegiance to Shinde.
Since August 16, Thackeray has been searching for candidates in these constituencies and presiding over continuous review meetings. He has assessed the situation in northern Maharashtra and a portion of western Maharashtra thus far. This week, he will conduct constituent meetings in the Vidarbha region.
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Meanwhile, Thackeray indicated that former minister of the union Anant Geete would represent the party in Raigad. Geete lost the 2019 election to Sunil Tatkare of the NCP, resulting in his marginalisation. Sena (UBT) is anticipated to receive the Raigad constituency in a seat-sharing arrangement with NCP and Congress, MVA partners. Geete is a member of the Kunbi community, which is prominent in the Konkan region, particularly in the Raigad and Ratnagiri districts.
