Mumbai, June 22 (IANS) Shiv Sena-UBT party chief Uddhav Thackeray is set to embark on a comprehensive tour, from June 27 to June 29, of the constituencies from where the party MPs have defected to join the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
According to the release issued by Rajya Sabha member and Saamana Executive Editor Sanjay Raut, the tour will cover multiple key districts across the state, with specific responsibilities assigned to top party leaders for each location.
The tour comes days after six MPs — Omraje Nimbalkar (Dharashiv), Sanjay Patil (Mulund North East), Sanjay Jadhav (Parbhani), Sanjay Deshmukh (Yavatmal), Nagesh Patil Ashtikar (Hingoli) and Bhausaheb Wakchaure (Shirdi) –staged a rebellion last week, hinting at joining the Shinde faction. Thackeray has already announced that he will travel to these constituencies to publicly tender an apology to the voters who had voted for now-defected MPs during the 2024 general elections.
Thackeray will kick start his tour in Yavatmal on June 27 where senior leaders, including MP Arvind Sawant, MLA Sanjay Derkar, liaison chief (Sampark Pramukh) Rajendra Gaikwad, and district chiefs (Jilha Pramukh) Pravin Shinde, Kishor Ingale, and Sanjay Nikhade, will oversee preparations. He will then travel to Washim. The coordination is being managed by MP Sawant, MLA Derkar, liaison chief Dilip Jadhav, and district chief Balaji Wankhede. Later in the afternoon, the party chief will visit Hingoli. MLC and former Leader of Opposition Ambadas Danve, liaison chief Babanrao Thorat, and district chiefs Sandesh Deshmukh, Ajay Patil, and Gopu Sawant will lead the responsibilities here. The party chief will arrive in Parbhani for an overnight halt.
The second leg of the tour will begin on June 28 with a visit to Parbhani city. MLC Danve, MLA Rahul Patil, liaison chief Pradipkumar Khopde, and district chief Dr Vivek Navandar will handle the local arrangements.
In the afternoon, Thackeray will move to Dharashiv. Arrangements are being looked after by Danve, MLA Kailas Patil, and liaison chief Sunil Katmore. The day will conclude with a night halt at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
On the final day of the tour on June 29, Thackeray will visit the holy town of Shirdi. Raut, liaison chief and MLC Sunil Shinde, alongside district chiefs Sachin Kote and Jagdish Choudhary, have been assigned to oversee this leg.
The party chief will depart for Mumbai. The party insiders said that the entire tour is strategically planned to mobilise party workers and strengthen grassroots connections across Maharashtra ahead of crucial political alignments.
Earlier, in an emotional appeal to his party leaders and cadre on the 60th foundation day of the United Shiv Sena, Thackeray, on last Friday, offered to step down as Shiv Sena-UBT President if his leaders believed in the allegations levelled against him by the defected parliamentarians.
“The BJP is moving from ‘One Nation, One Election’, to ‘One Nation, No Election’. We will have to do Operation Lotus. The way the politics of this country is being conducted, people’s faith in democracy is eroding. This is a threat to democracy. The way we are going currently, we are moving towards anarchy,” he warned.
–IANS
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