Sanjay Raut removed as Shiv Sena's parliamentary leader after Shinde appoints Gajanan Kirtikar

Uddhav Thackeray has suffered yet another setback as his close aide and MP, Sanjay Raut, was ousted as the parliamentary leader of the party, after the loss of the Bow and Arrow symbol and party name. Gajanand Kirtikar, who aligned with Eknath Shinde's faction of the Shiv Sena in November last year, has been appointed as the new parliamentary leader in place of Raut.

𝗞𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗸𝗮𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝗘𝗸𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁

Kirtikar, taking to Twitter after his appointment, thanked CM Shinde and his party colleagues.

"By appointing me as the leader of the Shiv Sena parliamentary party, Chief Minister @mieknathshinde has shown confidence in me. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to him as well as to all the Shiv Sena colleagues in parliament who have supported me," Kirtikar said.

𝗘𝗖 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗮 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘆𝗺𝗯𝗼𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

In February, the Election Commission of India (ECI) granted the official symbol Bow and Arrow and the name of Shiv Sena to the faction led by Eknath Shinde. A feud had erupted between the factions of Thackeray and Shinde over the claim to the party name and election symbol. Shinde, who is now the Chief Minister, had rebelled against Thackeray but had not disassociated himself or his associates from the party, instead forming an alliance with the BJP.

Earlier, Eknath Shinde had written a letter to Pralhad Joshi, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, naming Gajanand Kirtikar as the new leader of the Shiv Sena parliamentary party. Kirtikar, once a devoted follower of Uddhav Thackeray, took over from Sanjay Raut last week.