Washim, June 27 (IANS) Launching a massive state-wide outreach campaign following a heavy political blow to his party, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday sounded the poll bugle from the traditional saffron bastion of Yavatmal-Washim in the Vidarbha region.

Addressing a rally, a combative Thackeray targeted the rebel lawmakers who recently switched sides to the Eknath Shinde-led faction, branding them as “traitors” (namakharam) and “crooks” (haramkhor), while asserting that the party’s grassroots cadre remains entirely untouched by the defections.

Taking a direct swipe at political adversaries, claiming that his party is finished, Thackeray dismissed the talk as mere “howling of jackals” (kolhekui).

He thundered that people had said Uddhav Thackeray did not move out, so he decided it was time to hit the ground running and show the real Shiv Sena and its true strength.

He added that the ungrateful and corrupt had left their ranks, but not a single staunch, hard-core Shivsainik had moved an inch from his place.

Expressing deep regret to the electorate for giving tickets to individuals who later switched allegiances, Thackeray explained that calling them namakharam was not an insult, but a statement of fact.

He remarked that a person who forgets the benevolence of his benefactor and betrays them is a crook and that from Eknath Shinde down to these MPs, everyone was a traitor.

He added that while they were attending parliamentary group meetings with him, they were simultaneously negotiating deals for ‘boxes’ (bribes) behind his back.

Thackeray fiercely countered the ruling Mahayuti alliance on the plank of ideological purity, stating that the rebellion was a betrayal of Hindutva rather than just a split in the party.

He said that they were genuine, fierce Hindus with the saffron flag of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj firmly in their hands, while the BJP’s Hindutva was absolute hypocrisy (bhondutva). He added that their Hindutva ensured jobs for the youth and fair prices for the farmers.

Evoking the Ram Temple issue, Thackeray alleged that the current dispensation was commercialising faith, adding that when the Babri structure fell, these leaders fled with their tails tucked between their legs.

He further stated that bravery and the BJP were contradictory terms and reminded the audience that if Balasaheb Thackeray had not stepped up during that era, even a black dog would not have bothered to look at the BJP.

The visit comes in the immediate backdrop of ‘Operation Tiger’, a swift political manoeuvre in which six Lok Sabha MPs broke away from the Thackeray camp to join the ruling Shiv Sena faction.

In a tactical response, Thackeray used his visit to declare Siddharth Devle as the party’s official candidate for the Washim (SC) Assembly constituency for the upcoming state assembly elections, making it the first formal candidacy announcement by the opposition.

He told Devle to look at the margin of votes he secured last time and start preparing from that very moment, adding that he had three years in hand, effectively guaranteeing him the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) ticket. Devle had previously lost the seat by a narrow margin to the BJP’s Shyam Khode.

Addressing the severe issue of agrarian distress in the Vidarbha region, Thackeray slammed the government’s current farm aid schemes.

He said that Yavatmal-Washim records the highest number of farmer suicides and that the government talks about loan waivers (karzmaafi). He added that a criminal is granted a waiver, but farmers were not criminals, and demanded complete debt liberation (karzmukti).

Responding to Thackeray’s aggressive posture in Vidarbha, state Cabinet Minister and Shinde faction leader Sanjay Rathod downplayed the impact of the opposition rally. He told reporters that those who thunder rarely rain (jo garazte hai, wo baraste nahi).

He added that they should level as many threats and criticisms as they wanted, but they preferred to reply through their administrative work. He noted that they started their uprising with 40 MLAs and that today their strength has grown to over 60, with many more who believed in Balasaheb Thackeray’s true ideology waiting to join them.

He concluded that they would let their performance do the talking.

–IANS

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