In another big blow to former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, a senior leader of the Shiv Sena faction and party MP Gajanan Kirtikar jumped ship and joined hands with Eknath Shinde-led Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena on November 11 in the presence of Chief Minister Shinde. Appalled by it, Kirtikar has now been expelled from the Uddhav faction, accusing him of anti-party activities. It is being speculated that Kirtikar’s jump to the Shinde camp came after he was upset over being sidelined in the party.

Kirtikar joined the Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde in the presence of the Chief Minister during an event at Ravindra Natyamandir in Dadar. Before defecting to Shinde’s Sena, he visited the Maharashtra Chief Minister at his official residence ‘Varsha’ for Ganpati darshan. After this, CM Shinde tweeted, “Popular MP of Mumbai North West Lok Sabha Constituency Gajanan Kirtikar officially entered the party today. He was warmly welcomed on the occasion and wished him good luck for future social and political progress.”

Gajanan Kirtikar joins Shinde faction

As per reports, Shinde had also called on Kirtikar at his Goregaon residence when he was recovering from surgery. Soon after this meeting, a leader from the Shinde faction had given a hint that one or two leaders from the Uddhav Thackeray faction are likely to join them after the Ganesh festival. Kirtikar is a four-term MLA and a former minister of state for Home. He has also served the Lok Sabha as an MP twice from Mumbai North West.

In June, Shinde and 39 other Sena legislators had rebelled against the party leadership, following which the Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government collapsed. On June 30, Shinde was sworn in as the CM along with BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis as his deputy.