Days after battling a revolt by some of his MLAs, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray has written to the party legislators who backed him during the rebellion and praised them for showing “loyalty” towards the 56-year-old organisation and not falling prey to any inducements or threats to switch sides.
Thackeray stepped down as the chief minister of Maharashtra late last month following the rebellion by senior Sena leader Eknath Shinde and other MLAs of the party.
The former chief minister, in the letter dated July 6, said Sena founder late Bal Thackeray had always preached loyalty towards the party and that legislators who stayed back with him followed his teachings.
“As a Shiv Sena MLA, you diligently followed his (Bal Thackeray’s) teachings of loyalty. You did not fall prey to threats or inducements and remained loyal to the Shiv Sena. Maharashtra is proud of your stand and this will also strengthen the party,” he said in the letter to 15 party MLAs.
Of the 55 Sena MLAs, 40 MLAs revolted against the party leadership, leading to the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by Thackeray on June 29.
As many as 15 MLAs, mostly from Mumbai and the coastal Konkan region, remained in the Thackeray camp.
Shinde took oath as the Chief Minister on June 30, a day after Thackeray stepped down from the post. BJP‘s Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as deputy chief minister.
