Raut: Several leaders of a prominent party in touch with Shiv Sena

Sanjay Raut

Several MLAs of a "major political party" in Maharashtra are in contact with the Shiv Sena, Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut said Wednesday. "The Sena under the leadership of Uddhav Thackeray is impenetrable and strong," Raut, a senior Shiv Sena leader, said.

"But those who are spreading rumours (about unrest in the Sena) should see that their own MLAs and MPs are deserting them. There is uneasiness in their party," he said. He did not name the BJP, with which his party has had an uneasy alliance. But his comments came a day after BJP MLA Ashish Deshmukh, a staunch proponent of separate Vidarbha state, announced that he was quitting the party.

"There are several MLAs, important leaders from Maharashtra, of a major political party who are in contact with the Sena and are looking for the right time and opportunity (to cross over). They include some well-known names," Raut told a news channel. Responding to Raut's claim, BJP leader and state finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said the Constitution gives every citizen the freedom to choose political inclination. However, Sena workers and leaders too have this freedom, he pointed out.

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