Shiv Sena known as party of Thackerays, NCP that of Sharad Pawar: BJP's Chandrakant Patil

Mumbai: Amid an ongoing ownership tussle between the Shiv Sena and the NCP factions, Maharashtra BJP minister Chandrakant Patil has said that while the Shiv Sena is known as the party of Uddhav Thackeray, the same is true with the NCP and its founder Sharad Pawar.

He made the comments, which may cause embarrassment to the ruling Mahayuti alliance, while he was trying to drive home the point that even as the BJP is known as a party of its "karyakartas" or workers, the Sena and the NCP are known by their leaders. He was speaking at a public event in Sangli on Friday.

The BJP currently shares power in the state as part of the Mahayuti alliance with the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) headed by Ajit Pawar, both of whom are deputy chief ministers in the Devendra Fadnavis-led dispensation.

Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar's NCP (SP) are part of the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) along with the Congress. Speaking during the event, Patil, who is Higher and Technical Education Minister, said, "Shiv Sena was always known as Balasaheb Thackeray's party, then Uddhav Thackeray's party, and maybe in future it will be known as Aditya Thackeray's party. The same is true with the NCP, which was always known as Sharad Pawar's party, but never as a party of workers."

"The BJP, on the other hand, is always known as a party of its karyakartas," he said. The Shiv Sena split in June 2022 when party leader Eknath Shinde, who was a minister then, rebelled against Uddhav Thackeray and joined hands with the BJP along with majority of party MLAs to form a government in the state.

Shinde was made the CM with BJP's support. A year later, Ajit Pawar, who was the opposition leader in the Maharashtra legislative assembly, rebelled against his uncle and NCP founder Sharad Pawar, and joined the Eknath Shinde-led government as deputy chief minister.

In a setback to Uddhav Thackeray, the Election Commission in February 2023 allotted the name 'Shiv Sena' and its poll symbol 'bow and arrow' to the group led by Shinde. Later, the EC also recognised the Ajit Pawar faction as the real NCP and allotted the party symbol 'clock' to the group led by him.

The Thackeray faction was allotted the name of Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and the symbol of 'flaming torch', while the Sharad Pawar's party was given the name NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) and 'man blowing turha' (a traditional trumpet), which is also known as a tutari in Marathi.