After Uddhav-Fadnavis meeting, Eknath Shinde takes a dig at Uddhav Thackeray

Eknath Shinde accused Uddhav Thackeray of betraying his ally Devendra Fadnavis in 2019-Photo Credit-ANI

Mumbai : Maharashtra politics has heated up once again. Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday July 18,2025 launched a scathing attack on Shiv Sena (Uddhav faction) chief Uddhav Thackeray and alleged that he betrayed the BJP and Devendra Fadnavis in 2019.

Shinde, speaking on a resolution brought by the opposition in the Legislative Council, without naming Thackeray, slammed his 2019 decisions and said that the people of Maharashtra would not have seen even a chameleon change colors so fast.

Eknath Shinde revealed in his address that after the BJP and Shiv Sena alliance got a majority in the 2019 assembly elections, Devendra Fadnavis had tried to contact Uddhav Thackeray several times.

“Fadnavis ji called about 40-50 times, but there was no response from there.”

This statement of Shinde is reminiscent of the old political developments when the conflict over the post of Chief Minister started after the elections and Shiv Sena broke ties with BJP.

Shinde launched a scathing attack on Uddhav Thackeray’s alliance with Congress and NCP.

“Maharashtra has never seen a chameleon change its colour so fast. He has gone with the same people whom he once called vile and corrupt.”

This statement of Shinde is being considered a direct indication towards the formation of the ‘Maha Vikas Aghadi’ (MVA) government of 2019, in which Shiv Sena left BJP and formed the government with Congress and NCP.

Talking about the 2017 Mumbai Municipal Corporation elections, Shinde claimed that it was on his initiative that Fadnavis agreed to give the post of Mumbai Mayor to Shiv Sena, while BJP had won 82 and Shiv Sena 84 seats at that time.

“We compromised to maintain relations. BJP showed a big heart and gave the post of Mayor.”

Linking this with Uddhav’s decision to break the alliance with BJP, Shinde tried to show the feeling of betrayal.

Eknath Shinde also revealed that when he and his supporting MLAs were in Guwahati after the rebellion in 2022, Uddhav Thackeray contacted him and took the initiative for a compromise.

“On one hand he was talking to us about reconciliation, while on the other hand he was telling the BJP leadership in Delhi not to support us. This double face clearly shows that he was only interested in the chair.”

With this statement, Shinde tried to indicate that Uddhav wanted to retain power at any cost, even if he had to compromise his own principles for this.

This aggressive statement of Shinde has come at a time when a cordial meeting took place between Uddhav Thackeray and Devendra Fadnavis a day earlier. Many kinds of political speculations were being made about that meeting.

Fadnavis had made a sharp comment wrapped in laughter in the House, saying:

“Uddhav ji is in the opposition, but the sentiments are still of the ruling party.”

Perhaps this statement became a signal for Shinde, and he retaliated on Friday July 18, 2025 and directly questioned Thackeray’s credibility.

This sharp statement of Eknath Shinde not only raises questions on Uddhav Thackeray’s strategies, but also clears the political equations of the BJP-Shinde faction.

After the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, preparations for the 2025 assembly elections have started in Maharashtra and in such a situation, this rhetoric can lay the foundation for new political polarisation.

Only time will tell how much the allegations leveled against Uddhav Thackeray will affect his public sentiment and the credibility of the organisation.