Nagpur: Farm activist Kishore Tiwari has resigned from the Shiv Sena (UBT), citing his opposition to a potential alliance between Uddhav Thackeray's party and the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).
Tiwari, in a release on Monday, alleged the MNS was against Hindi-speaking people, other linguistic minorities and Muslim citizens who, he claimed, are the "main backbone of the Maha Vikas Aghadi and the Opposition India bloc".
He said that he resigned from the primary membership of the Shiv Sena (UBT) on Sunday.
In the 2024 Maharashtra assembly elections, the Sena (UBT) won 20 seats, and in 10 of them, its victory was possible only because a substantial number of Hindi-speaking, Muslim, Dalit and OBC people voted for it, he claimed.
Tiwari, who was removed as the Sena (UBT) spokesperson in February this year, said he had earlier urged in an open letter to Uddhav Thackeray not to ally with his cousin Raj Thackeray, alleging the MNS chief was running an agenda against non-Marathi people and Muslims in Maharashtra.
He said his request was ignored, and hence, he has now decided to quit the party.
"Now, for protecting linguistic provincialism and for the harmony and national interest, I am parting ways with the Shiv Sena (UBT)," Tiwari stated.
Some years back, Tiwari was appointed by the state government as the head of a task force to suggest ways to prevent farmer suicides and to bring about agricultural reforms, but was later removed from the post.
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