Eknath Shinde camp cannot function without money, loyal shiv sainiks with me: Uddhav Thackeray

Mumbai, August 21

Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday said honest Sena workers are with him while the rebel camp led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Ekanath Shinde cannot function “without money”.

Addressing Shiv Sena workers in Mumbai, the former chief minister said the people of Maharashtra are awaiting the Assembly elections so that they can “teach a lesson to the traitors”.

He said the Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government lacks the courage to advance the assembly elections.

“They cannot function without a ‘khoka’ (box with money). We have also boxes with us, which are full of people who are honest and loyal to the Shiv Sena,” Thackeray said.

The Supreme Court is expected to hear on Monday the pleas filed by Shiv Sena factions led by Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde on the disqualification of MLAs and other technical issues.

Against this backdrop, the Sena chief said, “I do not care what the court decides. I respect the judiciary”.

A rebellion by Shinde and 39 of 55 MLAs of the Shiv Sena led to the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in June.

After the collapse of the MVA government, Shinde was sworn in as the chief minister with the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis is the Deputy Chief Minister in the new government.