Shiv Sena steps up efforts to keep party leaders in its fold

Ahead of general elections, Uddhav has brought in new faces on key posts by putting old guards on back seat

Amid rising desertions, the Shiv Sena is striving to put its flock together by increasing dialogue among party members. Sena President Uddhav Thackeray is unmoved by attempts, especially by the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), to lure disgruntled Sena members into their folds.

Ahead of the coming general elections, Thackeray has appointed new members to posts and put the old guards on the backseat. The trigger for the reorganisation was the decision of Babanrao Waghchaure, the party's member of Parliament (MP) from Shirdi, to shift to the Congress. Waghchaure would formally join the Congress on February 24. The Congress has hinted it will nominate Waghchaure for the Shirdi seat.

Anand Paranjape, Shiv Sena MP from Kalyan in Thane, has associated himself with the NCP, though he has not resigned from the Shiv Sena yet. The NCP has told Paranjape he would be nominated from Kalyan.

Ganesh Dudhgaonkar, Shiv Sena MP from Parbhani, has been distancing himself from the party for long. Dudhgaonkar, who has already been approached by the Congress and the NCP, is aware he won't be renominated by the Shiv Sena.

Two days ago, former Shiv Sena legislator Namdeo Pawar joined the Congress.

Congress and NCP functionaries said several Shiv Sena leaders have approached them to join these parties.

Subhash Desai, a Shiv Sena leader, downplayed the issue of party leaders switching sides. “The party will nominate strong and efficient candidates in the Shirdi, Kalyan and Parbhani constituencies and will retain these seats. The announcement will be made within a week. Every party brings in new faces after performance reviews, and Shiv Sena is no exception," Desai said.

He said the Shiv Sena, along with its partners the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Republican Party of India and the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana, had resolved to win most of the 48 seats in Maharashtra.