Ready to help reconcile two Senas, but hearts need to meet first: Shirsat

Maharashtra Shiv Sena minister Sanjay Shirsat has said he is ready to facilitate reconciliation between his party and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) but hearts must meet first.

The Shiv Sena spokesperson, in an interview with a Marathi channel on Saturday, said he and many of his party colleagues share cordial ties with the Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders even today.

Shirsat said he is pained by the split in the Bal Thackeray-founded Shiv Sena, which is now headed by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Asked if he was ready to facilitate any efforts towards rapprochement if he gets an opportunity, Shirsat said, I will do it, but hearts need to meet first.

Leaders of the two parties still meet each other warmly, he said.

But the distance has become such that if it's not bridged now, it will be difficult to mend ties later, Shirsat said.

Asked whether Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, the son of former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, could facilitate a patch-up, Shirsat said the youth leader, who is in his 30s, was not in a position to do so because of his age.

We can forgive each other's mistakes. If you think you can come together by insulting each other then that's not possible, Shirsat said referring to attacks by the Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders.

The original Shiv Sena, then under Uddhav Thackeray, split in June 2022 after Shinde led a rebellion, walked away with his supporters and aligned with the BJP to become chief minister of Maharashtra. Subsequently, he got the party name and its bow and arrow' symbol.

Since the division, the two Sena factions have relentlessly attacked each other.

In the Maharashtra assembly elections held last year, the Sena headed by Shinde, a partner in the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance, won 57 of the state's 288 seats.

By contrast, the Sena (UBT), which has aligned with the Congress and Sharad Pawar's NCP (SP) under the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), bagged only 20.

Altogether, the Mahayuti won 230 seats, while the MVA got just 46.