Thackeray, Shinde factions of Shiv Sena face off at party office in BMC

The rival Shiv Sena factions led by Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde faced off at the party's office in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters in south Mumbai on Wednesday evening.

Tensions prevailed for an hour on the premises till police intervened. The confrontation took place after North Central Mumbai MP Rahul Shewale, former standing committee chairman Yashwant Jadhav and former corporator Sheetal Mhatre, all belonging to the Shinde-led Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena, entered the party office around 5 pm. Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) faction's former corporators including Ashish Chemburkar and Sachin Padwal objected to their presence, leading to heated exchanges, sources said. Tension prevailed for nearly an hour with workers from both sides shouting slogans before the police stepped in and removed everyone from the office. Both factions claimed that there was no attempt by any side to stake claim to the party office, contrary to some reports. The civic headquarters has offices of all major political parties on the ground floor of the heritage building. Shewale told PTI that they had not gone to stake any claim over the party office but were in the BMC building to meet the municipal commissioner. "When we visited the office, we found a sticker covering the name of Yashvant Jadhav on the name plate. Because of his efforts, this office was set up. So we removed the sticker and garlanded the bust of Shiva Maharaj which is inside," he said. Speaking in Nagpur, Maharashtra minister and Shinde faction leader Deepak Kesarkar said the office belongs to the Shiv Sena, and their faction was the authentic Shiv Sena as their claim has been accepted by the Maharashtra Assembly too."They (Thackeray faction) should realize that they have already lost their majority everywhere... They should accept that they have given up the ideology of Balasaheb Thackeray and Hindutva and they are in minority," he added.

MLA Sanjay Gaikwad, another leader from the Shinde faction, said in Nagpur that the Sena (UBT) has no presence in the BMC.

"With 40 MLAs on our side, we are largest and real Shiv Sena. Hence, we will be taking all the Shiv Sena offices in Maharashtra in our possesion," he said. To a query by reportes whether the party headquarters Shiv Sena Bhavan in Dadar area of Mumbai will also be taken into possession, Gaikwad said Eknath Shinde will take decision on it.