Shiv Sena UBT leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay RautPhoto: | File Pic Shiv Sena UBT leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay RautPhoto: | File Pic A day after announcing Shiv Sena UBT's solo fight for the local elections in Maharashtra, Sanjay Raut has stated that this decision does not call for the dissolution of the INDIA bloc or Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance.
As per the Sena leader, the UBT faction will go solo to "strengthen their base" in the state.
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"The MVA was formed for the assembly polls and INDIA bloc for the Lok Sabha elections. The local body elections are meant to empower party workers and strengthen the organisation at the grassroots level. I or my party have never said that the INDIA bloc or the MVA should be dissolved,” said Raut.
The Sena leader's remarks come a day after he cited the lack of opportunities for party workers in an alliance.
"In an alliance, workers of individual parties don't get opportunities, and it hampers organisational growth. We will contest polls to the Mumbai, Thane, Nagpur and other municipal corporations, zilla parishads and panchayats on our strength," he told reporters on Saturday.
The INDIA bloc and MVA alliances include the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, and Sharad Pawar’s NCP (SP).
With Shiv Sena's decision to fight the civic polls alone, questions are once again being raised regarding the unity within the INDIA bloc. The UBT faction's decision also comes after the results of the Maharashtra assembly election in which the Mahayuti alliance emerged victorious.
Several events over the last few months have hinted towards cracks within the opposition bloc such as Aam Aadmi Party ditching the alliance with Congress and questions over Rahul Gandhi's leadership of the INDIA bloc.jilipark