Even after Uddhav Thackery lost power in Maharashtra after the majority of Shiv Sena MLAs rebelled under the leadership of Eknath Shinde and formed a govt with the alliance of BJP, his faction of the party continues to lose leaders to the Shinde camp. In another big blow to the Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena, the group’s senior leader and MP Gajanan Kirtikar joined the Eknath Shinde faction of Shiv Sena on Friday evening.
On 11th November 2022, senior Gajanan Kirtikar reached the official residence of the chief minister of Maharashtra i.e. the Varsha Bungalow to meet chief minister Eknath Shinde. There, Gajanan Kirtikar reportedly agreed to join the Shinde group which is now known as Shiv Sena (Balasaheb Thackeray). After that, he officially joined the party at an event held at Rabindra Natya Mandir in presence of CM Eknath Shinde and other leaders of the party.
CM Eknath Shinde confirmed the development by welcoming Gajanan Kirtikar to the party in a tweet. In the Tweet in Marathi, Shinde wrote, ‘Gajanan Kirtikar, a popular MP from Mumbai North West Lok Sabha constituency, today made a public entry into Balasaheb’s Shiv Sena party. He was warmly welcomed on the occasion and wished him all the very best for his future social and political journey.’
मुंबई उत्तर पश्चिम लोकसभा मतदारसंघाचे लोकप्रिय खासदार गजानन कीर्तिकर यांनी आज #बाळासाहेबांची_शिवसेना पक्षात जाहीर प्रवेश केला. याप्रसंगी त्यांचे मनापासून स्वागत केले तसेच भावी सामाजिक आणि राजकीय वाटचालीकरिता त्यांना शुभेच्छा दिल्या.@GajananKirtikar pic.twitter.com/vCnAK003Wt
— Eknath Shinde – एकनाथ शिंदे (@mieknathshinde) November 11, 2022
This decision by the Mumbai MP is looked at as a big blow to the Shiv Sena (UBT) ahead of the elections of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai. Kirtikar was considered a loyal MP from the Uddhav Thackeray group. But with him also joining the Shinde group, the number of MPs in the Eknath Shinde group has gone up to 13.
There was already talk that Gajanan Kirtikar would join the Shinde group. In the program held at Shivaji Park, he had said that it was a mistake to make an alliance with Congress and the NCP. There were reports of a secret meeting between Gajanan Kirtikar and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on September 6. At that time, it was said that MP Kirtikar had gone to get the darshan of Lord Ganpati at the official residence of the Chief Minister. Moreover, there were reports that Kirtikar was not happy with the Thackeray camp in recent times for various reasons.
Earlier, Eknath Shinde had met Kirtikar in July after coming to power. At that time, Shinde had said that it was not a political visit. He said that he met Kirtikar as he was ill. 12 Lok Sabha MPs from Shiv Sena have already joined the Shinde group. They are – Rahul Shewale, Bhavana Gavli, Krupal Tumane, Hemant Godse, Sadashiv Lokhande, Prataprao Jadhav, Dhairyashil Mane, Shrikant Shinde, Hemant Patil, Rajendra Gavit, Sanjay Mandlik, and Shrirang Barne. 79-year-old Gajanan Kirtikar is Lok Sabha MP from the northwest Mumbai constituency.
