Ahead of the forthcoming civic elections in Maharashtra, a delegation of Marathi Muslim leaders led by the Marathi Muslim Seva Sangh (MMSS) met with former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and declared their full support for Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray. The delegation included MMSS President Fakir M Thakur, Nooruddin Naik, Ismail Samdule, Dr AR Khan, Captain Akbar Khalfe, and other important members from around the state.
Elections for many municipal corporations, including Mumbai, are due over the next few months.
While extending his support to the Uddhav Thackeray’s faction of Shiv Sena MMSS President Fakir M Thakur said, “We expressed our deep sense of hurt at the manner in which Uddhav Thackeray ji was forced out as the CM in June and the attempts made by the group of selfish rebel leaders out to destroy the teachings of the late Balasaheb Thackeray.”
He stated that following discussions with all of its members and other linked organisations, the MMSS resolved to provide full support to all the initiatives of Thackeray in the “interest of politics of pride, unity, development and progress of the state.”
Thakur added that MMSS leaders are optimistic that in the upcoming civic polls, people will rally behind Shiv Sena-UBT and its allies to oppose the state’s and country’s current ‘communal politics.’
Founded in 2014, the MMSS has approximately 80 large and small non-governmental organisations (NGOs) under its umbrella, with many social-cultural-educational initiatives involving thousands of members of the minority community, including women and youth, across Mumbai, Konkan, western and northern Maharashtra, Marathwada, Vidarbha, and major cities.
It may be recalled how the Shiv Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray resigned from the post of the Chief Minister of Maharashtra on June 29, minutes after the Supreme Court of India refused to intervene with the Maharashtra Governor’s direction for a trust vote. The Governor had asked Uddhav Thackeray-led SS-NCP-Cong ruling coalition to prove a majority in Assembly on June 30, with voting at 5 pm.
The CM had addressed the public through a live video on Facebook and announced that he is resigning. Along with the post of CM, he had also resigned as an MLC.
Uddhav Thackeray and Shiv Sena were facing a coup since 21st June 2022 when Eknath Shinde and 39 other Shiv Sena MLAs rebelled against the Maha Vikas AGhadi alliance in the state and asked to get back into an alliance with their former partner BJP.
Shiv Sena broke the pre-poll alliance with BJP and joined hands with NCP and Congress to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra after the 2019 assembly elections. Eknath Shinde and other rebels have emphasized that they essentially took the stand for Hindutva ideology that Shiv Sena was moving away from, especially after making a coalition government with NCP and Congress.
