Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray will not switch to the ruling BJP-led NDA, Maharashtra NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) president Jayant Patil asserted on June 6, seeking to scotch speculation about a possible crossover by his key ally.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) won nine Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra in the just concluded elections, the same as the BJP, while its rival faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde bagged seven.
Addressing a press conference in Mumbai, Mr. Patil said he had met Mr. Thackeray and congratulated him for the success of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in the Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra where the Opposition bloc won 30 of the 48 seats.
"There is no chance that he will switch sides," the former State minister noted when asked about speculation that started after Mr. Thackeray skipped a key INDIA alliance meeting held in New Delhi on Wednesday and reports in a section of the media about backchannel moves for a rapprochement with the BJP-led grouping.
Mr. Patil said the former CM is geared up to install a MVA government in the State, where Assembly polls are due in October 2024.
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The NCP (SP), the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Congress are constituents of the MVA, a State-level alliance, and they are also part of the INDIA bloc.
"There is tremendous unrest among people about the State government," Mr. Patil said, hitting out at the Shiv Sena-led ruling coalition which also consists of the BJP and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP.
