Supporters of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and supporters of former CM Uddhav Thackeray clashed with each other in a brawl in Thane. The altercation took place on the night of November 14 and 15. An FIR has been filed against both sides after allegations were made by each party.
Following the brawl, followers from both sides rushed to Thane’s Shri Nagar police station to file complaints against each other. A number of persons allegedly attacked supporters of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde outside the police station, prompting police to employ lathi charge to scatter them.
#Watch | Lathi charge by police during fight between Eknath Shinde and Uddhav Thackeray Faction in Thane#MaharashtraPolitics #MumbaiNews #ViralVideo #ThanePolice
— Free Press Journal (@fpjindia) November 15, 2022
By @AbhitashS pic.twitter.com/aJRE0o9YB7
Videos from the altercation between the two factions are making the rounds on social media. The footage shows police officers trying to control the crowd amidst the commotion, afterward, people can be seen scrambling to avoid being hit by the police lathicharge.
Notably, this occurred days after Gajanan Kirtikar, a senior member of the Shiv Sena faction led by Uddhav, joined the Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena in the presence of Chief Minister Shinde.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government fell after Eknath Shinde and 39 other Sena MLAs defected against the party leadership in June this year. Shinde was sworn in as CM on June 30, with BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis as his deputy. The Election Commission of India handed the Eknath Shinde side two swords and a shield sign months after the split, while the Uddhav Thackeray group got Mashaal as their electoral symbol.
Shinde had defied Uddhav Thackeray for establishing an “unnatural alliance” with Congress and the NCP. Thackeray was forced to resign as Chief Minister of Maharashtra when more than 40 of the Shiv Sena’s 55 MLAs backed Shinde. Shinde, also got support from 12 of the Shiv Sena’s 18 Lok Sabha members.
