In a major setback to Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), Nitin Nandgaonkar has quit the party and joined Shiv Sena.
Nandgaonkar joined Shiv Sena in the presence of party chief Uddhav Thackeray. Nandgaonkar was welcomed by Thackeray with a 'Shiv Bandhan'. Nandgaonkar, the General Secretary of Maharashtra Navnirman Vahatuk Sena, was known for his vigilante methods to 'discipline' taxi drivers claiming to solve problems of the common man and fighting for the underprivileged.
He often uses Facebook Lives to broadcast his vigilantism and in a recent video he also showed how taxi drivers allegedly tampered with fare meters which lead to exorbitant fares that commuters had to cough out.
In February this year, Mumbai Police had served a show cause notice to Nandgaonkar which mentioned cases registered against him, saying he was spreading fear in society, and asked him why he shouldn't be externed from Mumbai City, the suburbs and Thane district. The notice was sent after a video surfaced, in which Nandgaonkar was seen slapping an auto driver who allegedly beat up a passenger.