66 Shiv Sena corporators in the Thane Municipal Corporation switched sides on 7th July 2022 and joined the Eknath Shinde camp, handing Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray another embarrassing loss. Thane is the hometown of Eknath Shinde and he has a strong hold on the local bodies in the district including Zilla Parishad (ZP), Panchayat Samiti, municipalities, and municipal corporations.
On Wednesday night, the 66 rebel corporators met with new Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde at his home. Uddhav Thackeray effectively lost control of the Thane Municipal Corporation as 66 of the 67 Shiv Sena corporators have defected. Former mayor of Thane Naresh Mhaske led the corporators who have sided with Eknath Shinde in this internal Shiv Sena tussle.
After the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the Thane Municipal Corporation is the most important civic body in Maharashtra. Civic body polls in Maharashtra are soon going to be announced. A large number of corporators leaving the party at this time is seen as a big blow to Uddhav Thackeray considering the upcoming elections of municipal corporations, municipalities, and Zila Parishads in the state.
On June 29, Maharashtra’s three-party Maha Vikas Aghadi government crumbled after Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray resigned as chief minister in response to a coup in his party led by senior politician Eknath Shinde. On June 30, Eknath Shinde was sworn in as the new chief minister of the state. He was supported by 40 Shiv Sena MLAs and 10 independents. BJP with its 106 MLAs joined him in a coalition to form the new government. The former chief minister of the state Devendra Fadnavis took oath as the deputy chief minister.
Maharashtra’s political problem, however, appears to be anything but resolved. Both the Shinde camp and Uddhav Thackeray supporters contend that their separate groups represent the original Shiv Sena, and they are in conflict over the party’s “bow and arrow” symbol. Gulabrao Patil, a rebel Shiv Sena MLA, asserted that 12 of the party’s 18 MPs and 20 other ex-MLAs will soon join the Shinde camp as well.