Shiv Sena and RSS bound by common thread of Hindutva but different ideologically: Sanjay Raut

Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday said although the RSS and the undivided Shiv Sena were bound by a common thread of Hindutva, their ideologies have always been different.

Talking to reporters in New Delhi, Raut said in 1975, Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray was pressured to merge his party with the Congress, but he thwarted such attempts to ensure its independence.

"The Shiv Sena and the RSS were bound together by a common thread of Hindutva, but they have always been different ideologically," Raut said.

The Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha member was responding to a question on Maharashtra Deputy Chief Eknath Shinde' visit to the memorial of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) founder Dr K B Hedgewar in Nagpur on Thursday, where he said the ideologies of the Sangh Parivar and Shiv Sena were the same.

Raut said the Shinde-led Shiv Sena should be merged with the BJP.

Till 2019, the Shiv Sena shared cordial relations with the Sangh Parivar. However, the party snapped ties with the BJP after the 2019 Maharashtra assembly poll results over sharing the chief minister's post.

In June 2022, the Shiv Sena split after Eknath Shinde led a rebellion against the party leadership. The faction led by him joined hands with the BJP and he became the chief minister of the state.