Mumbai: Sanjay Raut's close confident and former BMC corporator Upendra Shinde joined Shiv Sena under Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday taking the total number of coporators who have joined Shinde camp to 33. As many as 25 of these 33 are from the Shiv Sena (UBT), CM Shinde said while welcoming the former corporators and their supporters to the party fold.
We are ready to face elections anytime, Shinde said while welcoming Upendra Sawant, the former BMC corporator from Kannamwar Nagar at Vikhroli, who is considered close to Sanjay and Sunil Raut of the Shiv Sena (UBT).
"No development work could be carried out in my constituency over past 1.5 years and hence to give a boost to the development works in my constituency I decided to join hands with Shinde," Sawant said as he joined Shiv Sena under CM Shinde.
Welcoming Sawant to the party fold, Shinde said that with his entry the total number of former corporators who have switched sides to join him has gone up to 33 out of which 25 are from the Shiv Sena (UBT) group. Corporators feel helpless if they are not able to carry out deleopment activities for their electorate, he said while criticizing the Thackerays for stalling development work.
Shinde Hits Back On Sena (UBT)' s Allegations
Mentioning the Shiv Sena (UBT)' s allegations that the state government is deliberately avoiding elections, Shinde said that they are ready for elections anytime but the case against wrong decisions in carving out wards is pending before Supreme Court which is stalling the elections.
Referring to Aaditya Thackeray's morcha on KEM hospital as a lowly attempt to gain credit, Shinde said that it was only after he made surprise visits and directed officials and doctors to resolve issues there, Thackeray took out the morcha.
While speaking about the INDIA block meeting in Mumbai, CM said that the only agenda they have is to defeat Modi. They had tried the same trick in 2014 as well as in 2019, but had failed miserably and are unlikely to he successful this time either, he added.
Several grassroot workers from Pune and Solapur diatrict too joined Shiv Sena at the function. They were led by former Shiv Sena MP Shivajirao Adhalrao-Patil.
