Uddhav Thackeray ‘fires’ two Shiv Sena ex-ministers

Mumbai, July 18: Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray expelled two senior leaders and ex-ministers for anti-party activities on Monday, continuing his desperate efforts to consolidate the party.

Former state minister Ramdas Kadam and former Union minister Anandrao Adsul are the expelled leaders, who were accused of anti-party activities as the reason for their expulsion.

The move comes amid intense speculation in Mumbai and New Delhi that a dozen Shiv Sena MPs will join Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s group and will announce their decision soon.

Earlier on Monday, Kadam, whose MLA son Yogesh Kadam joined the Shinde camp last month, resigned as Shiv Sena’s deputy leader.

In his resignation letter, he stated that the post of deputy leader had lost value following the death of Balasaheb Thackeray, and he also mentioned how the party leadership harassed him and his son.

Kadam complained about being ‘gagged’ by the party leadership for nearly three years, when he was not allowed to speak to the media for reasons that are still unknown to him.

He reminded Uddhav Thackeray of how he “requested with folded hands” that the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party not ally after the 2019 Assembly elections because it would be contrary to Balasaheb Thackeray’s beliefs, but he was ignored.

Thackeray appointed around 100 party office-bearers at various levels in Mumbai and other districts last week in an effort to consolidate the grassroots apparatus and prevent “leaks” to the Shinde side.

Deepak Kesarkar, the Shinde group’s spokesperson, responded by saying that no one has the authority to expel senior Sena leaders like Kadam and Adsul.

---

Next Story :

Now you can get latest stories from Indtoday on Telegram everyday. Click the link to subscribe.  Click to follow Indtoday Facebook page and Twitter and on Instagram. For all the latest Hyderabad News updates