Sena rebels will 'regret' their decision to part ways, but are free to ally with BJP: Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday said rebel MLAs have chosen their own way and there would be no hindrance from the party in the path of the dissidents associating themselves with the BJP as he once again targeted the breakaway group whose revolt last week brought down the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

He also tweeted an image of a man in a white kurta pyjama, who is presumably dressed like Uddhav Thackeray, with blood oozing from a wound on his back. "This is exactly what happened," Raut tweeted, alluding to the dissidents who switched sides. While chairing his last cabinet meeting as chief Minister on Wednesday, Uddhav Thackeray, who is also the Sena president, said he was betrayed by his own people.

Raut said the Sena, which headed the MVA government, will play the role of a constructive opposition to the new dispensation. Talking to reporters a day after Thackeray resigned as the chief minister following a rebellion led by Thane strongman Eknath Shinde that brought down his government, Raut said the dissident leaders will "regret" their decision to part ways with the Shiv Sena.


Raut said he will also go to the Enforcement Directorate's office here on Friday in response to the summons issued to him by the agency in a money laundering case, and clear his position. "You (rebel leaders) will regret this. Eknath Shinde (the leader of the rebel MLAs) was a staunch Shiv Sainik and worked for the party for many years. Be it (MLAs) Gulabrao Patil, Sandipan Bhumre and many (who are in the Shinde camp) who worked for the party and struggled for it...they have chosen their path. Shinde has claimed the support of 39 of the 55 Sena MLAs.


"We will not create any impediment in their path. They can have their association (with the BJP). We will do our work. Now our paths are different...We will work as a constructive opposition," he said. Without taking BJP's name, Raut said he is well aware of those responsible for pressuring the Sena legislators, which led to the rebellion in the party.

The Rajya Sabha MP said everyone had a sense of trust in the Uddhav Thackeray-led government. Be it NCP chief Sharad Pawar or Congress president Sonia Gandhi, everybody trusted the CM. "But efforts were on to bring down the government from day one and we were aware of this...the way they (the BJP) brought different kinds of pressure through different means, like central agencies," Raut said.

The Sena rebels have blamed Raut, the party's chief spokesperson, for his visceral statements for widening the gap between them and the leadership. Responding to this, Raut, a close aide of Thackeray, said, "If I am responsible for making Shiv Sainik a minister then I own it." He said the formation of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in November 2019 was a "fight for self-respect" and fulfillment of late Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray's dream to make a Shiv Sainik the chief minister. Will the rebel MLAs make a Shiv Sainik the chief minister? Raut asked.

The Sena MP made the statement before the BJP announced that Shinde, an MLA from Thane district, will be the new CM. The rebels have cited association with the Congress and NCP being the main reason for revolting against the party. Raut said many of the rebel MLAs who are giving this pretext were earlier with the NCP.

Many of these MLAs joined the Shiv Sena to become ministers. The Sena MP asserted that his party will work with a new vigour. "The Shiv Sena is not born for power, but power is born for the Shiv Sena," he said.