Sanjay Raut responsible for Sena-BJP mess, should shut up now: BJP leaders
Senior BJP leaders Chandrakant Patil (right) and Girish Mahajan (left) singled out Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut (centre) for the developments in the state and blamed him for the mess between the former allies
Barely hours after forming government in Maharashtra with the help of NCP, the BJP has launched a scathing attack on its former ally and singled out Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut as the person responsible for the developments in the state.
In the last two weeks, Raut, a key leader in the Shiv Sena, has been vocal in his criticism of BJP and his party’s plans of forming government in the state without its saffron ally.
Earlier today, BJP leader Girish Mahajan claimed that many of the Shiv Sena leaders are frustrated with Sanjay Raut and may join hands with BJP.
“Verbal diarrhoea will be the right phrase to use for him. Even many Shiv Sena MLAs are frustrated with him and they may also think of going with us,” said Mahajan.
The BJP leader singled out Raut as the person responsible for the developments.
“The BJP and our leaders blame Sanjay Raut for these developments in the State and we will not forget the language he has used against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He is responsible for this mess between BJP and Shiv Sena,” he said.
Mahajan also accused the Sena MP of “cheating the party leaders.”
“Sanjay Raut has cheated even party leaders like Uddhav Thackeray. We are fed up of his language and tone during the past few days. Enough is enough,” Mahajan said.
Even Maharashtra BJP president Chandrakant Patil echoed a similar sentiment, stating that Raut should “now at least keep silent” as he has “ruined the Shiv Sena”.
NCP’s Ajit Pawar joining hands with BJP to form a government came as a big jolt to the efforts by Congress, NCP, and Shiv Sena to form an alliance.
Meanwhile, in what can be termed as a surprising development, Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday took oath as Maharashtra Chief Minister for the second consecutive term while NCP’s Ajit Pawar took oath as Deputy Chief Minister of the state.
The move came at a time when deliberations between Congress, NCP, and Shiv Sena seemingly reached the final stage on Friday.
In the Assembly elections held last month, the BJP emerged as the single-largest party with 105 seats, followed by the Shiv Sena (56), the NCP (54) and the Congress (48) in the 288-member House.
The Shiv Sena and BJP, which contested the assembly polls together, parted ways days after the results were declared due to disagreement over sharing the Chief Minister’s post.
The Sena subsequently reached out to NCP and Congress to seek their support. In the interim, Maharashtra came under President’s Rule on November 9 after all parties failed to form the government in the state.
