The remarks came a day after Nimbalkar formally aligned himself with the Shinde camp despite efforts by Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders to persuade him to remain with the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction.

Aiming at Nimbalkar, Raut dismissed his appeal to supporters not to criticise the Thackeray family or Matoshree, saying such statements lacked credibility.

“Do traitors ever have a stand? Those who abandoned Uddhav Thackeray are nothing but notorious betrayers. If Om Nimbalkar believes his father’s soul will bless him for this move, that is his lookout. He is now sitting thigh-to-thigh with the very individuals he spent years accusing. This is the absolute peak of shamelessness and greed,” Raut said.

The Rajya Sabha MP further claimed that the party leadership was aware of alleged financial dealings linked to the defection. He alleged that Uddhav Thackeray had been informed about who accepted money on Nimbalkar’s behalf and details surrounding an alleged advance payment of Rs 15 crore.

Raut reiterated his long-standing criticism of Eknath Shinde, accusing him of working to weaken the Shiv Sena and alleging that he was acting at the behest of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

“Breaking the Shiv Sena is equivalent to breaking the pride of Maharashtra,” he said, while again referring to Shinde as a “contract killer”.

Raut also pointed to the recent Nashik Legislative Council election as evidence of growing tensions within the ruling Mahayuti alliance. He noted that BJP rebel candidate Gokul Gite defeated the Shinde faction’s nominee Narendra Darade despite efforts by senior alliance leaders to prevent the contest.

According to Raut, Gite had sought support from the Uddhav Thackeray camp before the election.

“After discussing with Uddhav Thackeray, we extended our support, which directly propelled Gite to victory. The BJP voters themselves ensured Shinde’s candidate was defeated. This is a clear sign of internal outrage,” he claimed.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader went on to allege that the BJP leadership in Delhi was deliberately backing Shinde to reduce Fadnavis’ political influence in the state.

“The bolstering of Shinde from Delhi is detrimental to Maharashtra,” Raut said. “Shinde is being used to diminish the stature of Devendra Fadnavis. Concurrently, our Shiv Sena is being targeted to weaken Maharashtra’s collective bargaining power, ultimately to hand over Mumbai’s assets to a handful of favoured industrialists.”

Asked about his party’s position amid growing friction between the BJP and Shinde’s Shiv Sena, Raut said the situation presented no easy choice.

“It’s not about choosing a side. We are looking at a choice between a ghost and a demon. But if this demon created by Amit Shah sits heavily on the neck of Devendra Fadnavis and threatens the state, we will step in and take an appropriate stand for Maharashtra,” he said.

The comments mark the latest escalation in the political battle between the Shiv Sena factions, with the war of words intensifying amid ongoing realignments in Maharashtra politics.

(With IANS inputs)