Mumbai: MNS chief Raj Thackeray has also started opposing the Dharavi development project. Earlier, Uddhav Thackeray had opened a front against Adani, but now Raj Thackeray has also joined the ranks. Now both the brothers have united against the Adani project. The political atmosphere has heated up over the Dharavi rehabilitation project, Asia’s largest slum. Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray has opposed the Dharavi project. Now MNS president Raj Thackeray has also joined it. A public meeting has been organized at Kamaraj Ground on December 7. In this meeting, Raj Thackeray can take some important steps with Dharavi. Everyone’s attention is on this rally. Dharavi Bachao Samiti has organized an all-party meeting at Kamaraj School Ground on December 7. The main objective of this meeting is to raise voice against the shortcomings of the Adani Group’s survey. The committee has alleged that in the name of redevelopment, old residents were included in the survey. And the eligible residents are being ignored, due to which the eligible residents are at risk of losing their homes. The local people have organized this meeting to bring all party leaders on one platform. It is expected that the Thackeray family will be seen together in this meeting. Earlier, Aditya Phakre has also opposed this project. The Dharavi Bachao Committee has also invited Raj Thackeray in the meeting. If the two brothers unite and rise against this project, then it is a challenge for the Adani Group and the government. To change the face of Dharavi, this project has been started on a 600-acre plot of land in the middle of Mumbai. The government claims to provide better houses and facilities to the residents of this place. The contract for this complete redevelopment project has been given to a company of the Adani Group. The current plan is to provide free houses of 405 square feet to the slum dwellers.

Maharashtra: Amid rising political noise ahead of the civic body elections, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday firmly ruled out any differences between the BJP and the Shiv Sena. Speaking to the media, Shinde maintained that the alliance was united and committed to contesting the upcoming polls together.

His remarks came at a time when some Sena leaders have crossed over to the BJP, sparking speculation about stress within the ruling coalition. Shinde clarified that he had raised the issue directly with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and received assurances that the situation would be corrected.

Shinde said the two partners must avoid actions that create mistrust or weaken the alliance. According to him, both sides agreed that leaders should not attempt to pull members from the other party.

“The Chief Minister agreed that this must stop. We have to contest the elections as an alliance, and there will be Lok Sabha elections after this. We must not do anything that causes misunderstandings. Each of us must follow the alliance dharma,” he said, adding that neither party would encourage corporators to switch sides.

He noted that Fadnavis had promised to speak to BJP leaders to prevent further defection attempts.

Even as top leaders attempt to restore calm, friction remains at the ground level. Elections in 246 municipal councils and 42 town panchayats were earlier scheduled for December 2. However, the State Election Commission has postponed polls in more than 20 councils due to procedural lapses and pending court matters.

In Sindhudurg, a stronghold for both the BJP and the Shinde faction, tensions escalated when the police registered a case against Nilesh Rane of the Shiv Sena. He allegedly entered the home of a BJP supporter, claiming he had discovered bags of cash meant for distribution to voters. The complaint triggered a fresh political flashpoint.

His brother, state minister Nitesh Rane of the BJP, rejected the allegations and defended local workers by saying they earn legitimate business income. He also criticised Sena workers who are supporting a rival faction candidate, stating it undermines Shinde’s previous justification for rebelling against the Uddhav Thackeray led government.

Reacting to the conflict, Fadnavis remarked that he supports people who conduct themselves properly. He admitted that the situation involving the Rane brothers was unfortunate and said the matter would be reviewed after the elections.

The political strain is not entirely new. Last month, ministers from the Shinde led Shiv Sena skipped a state cabinet meeting hours after the BJP inducted two leaders who had previously contested against Sena MLAs. The incident had raised eyebrows over the balance of power within the alliance.

Mumbai: Maharashtra minister and BJP leader Nitesh Rane has said Shiv Sena workers campaigning for a rival Sena (UBT) candidate in Sindhudurg raised doubts about Deputy CM Eknath Shinde’s past claims that he rebelled against the then MVA government due to “injustice”.

Rane said the situation raised serious doubts about the justification of Shinde’s rebellion in 2022. Notably, the BJP leader’s elder brother, Nilesh Rane, is an MLA from the Shinde-led Shiv Sena.

“Eknath Shinde had claimed he witnessed injustice to Shiv Sena workers under then chief minister and Shiv Sena head Uddhav Thackeray, hence, he rebelled. If he rebelled then, why are his party workers campaigning for Sandesh Parkar, a leader of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and candidate in the Kankavli municipal council elections?” Nitesh Rane asked while speaking to reporters in Sindhudurg district on Saturday evening.

Not only the people of Sindhudurg, but the entire Maharashtra will ask Shinde whether there is any meaning left to his so-called rebellion, the BJP leader said.

The latest outburst against Shinde came at the fag end of the campaigning for the first phase of local body polls, scheduled for December 2, marked by shifting political alliances and one-upmanship bids by leaders of the ruling Mahayuti allies – BJP and Shiv Sena.

Shinde engineered a split in the undivided Shiv Sena in June 2022, leading to the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

He then allied with the BJP and became the chief minister, with BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis sworn in as deputy CM.

In February 2024, Maharashtra legislative assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar ruled that Shinde’s faction was the “real Shiv Sena”.

After the BJP emerged as the single largest party in the 2024 assembly polls, Shinde resigned from the post of chief minister in December last year, and Fadnavis became the CM.