Rebels not merging with any party, still part of Shiv Sena, says Shinde group spokesperson

Rebel Shiv Sena leaders holed up in Guwahati are still a part of Shiv Sena but their faction will be given different recognition, rebel Sena Spokesperson Deepak Kesarkar clarified on Saturday.

He further said, "BJP is not behind all this. No party is bearing our expenses, we are making our own arrangements."

"We are still with Shiv Sena, we have not left the party. We are following the ideals of Balasaheb Thackeray," Kesarkar said.

He said, "There's no need to merge, our faction will be given different recognition and we aren't merging with any other party."

"We have a two-thirds majority to follow the path we wanted. Our new leader is chosen by the majority. They didn't have more than 16-17 MLAs," Kesarkar told ANI.

"We've numbers, but we respect CM Uddhav Thackeray, we won't speak against him. We must follow the path on which we fought Assembly elections," he said.

Kesarkar asked CM Uddhav Thackeray to ensure that law and order prevails in Maharashtra.