'Shiv Sena belongs to Balasaheb, not Uddhav,' says Shinde camp amid spar over party symbol

Asserting that the rebel leaders led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde are still part of the Shiv Sena, Deepak Kesarkar stated on Sunday that the party belongs to Balasaheb and his Shivainiks. "Uddhav Thackeray should have a heart like Balasaheb to accommodate everyone," the Shinde camp spokesman added.

"We are still at the party. Shiv Sena belongs to Balasaheb Thackeray and his Shivainiks. May God bless Uddhav saheb, so he could have a heart like Balasaheb to accommodate everyone," said Kesarkar.

The statement came amid a spar between the Uddhav Thackeray faction and the Eknath Shinde faction over the party's bow and arrow symbol. Both Thackeray loyalists and the Shinde supporters have claimed their respective group represents the original Shiv Sena.

Rebel Shiv Sena MLA Gulabrao Patil on Wednesday said the faction led by CM Shinde was the real claimant of the party's election poll symbol, a claim contested by the Uddhav camp.

Lok Sabha MP and Thackeray loyalist Vinayak Raut challenged the rebels to declare that they have quit the Shiv Sena and dared the BJP to call mid-term elections in the state.

"The rebels have no right to claim the party symbol which was created by our father (Sena founder) Balasaheb Thackeray, " he asserted. "We are ready for mid-term polls. The BJP should end political uncertainty in the state and call mid-term elections," Raut said.

'Will win the heart of Uddhav Thackeray': Shinde camp

In light of the distance created between both the factions, Deekar Kesarkar had earlier stated that the Shinde camp will be able to "win the confidence of Uddhav Thackeray." 

“PM Modi considers Uddhav Thackeray as his younger brother and in this reference, I and (BJP leader) Kirit Somaiya had a conversation this morning and he has assured he will abstain from giving negative remarks about the Thackeray family and after the formation of the coalition government, we will also be able to win the heart of Uddhav Thackeray, similar to how we have won over the confidence of others,” Kesarkar told reporters on Saturday.

The rebel faction of shiv Sena led by Shinde joined hands with the BJP to form a new government in the state last week following the collapse of the MVA dispensation.