โWe have the numbers, but we respect Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and our faction wonโt merge with any other party,โ Mr. Kesarkar said.
Guwahati: Who will continue the legacy of Bal Thackeray? The partyโs founder and the father of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, has become the deciding factor in the fight for control of the Shiv Sena.
Sena MLA Eknath Shinde has named MLA Deepak Kesarkar as the spokesperson of his new faction, which they have dubbed โShiv Sena Balasahebโ to mean the โideal Shiv Sena as envisaged by Bal Thackeray.โ
The only entity that may grant the faction recognition is the Election Commission.
โWe have the numbers, but we respect Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and our faction wonโt merge with any other party,โ Mr. Kesarkar told reporters in Guwahati today.
While close advisors to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and others are assisting with logistics, they are not participating in any internal conversations of the dissident Sena MLAs, sources said.
โIf recognition isnโt given to our faction, we will go to court and prove our numbers,โ said Mr. Kesarkar, adding that the rebels will not quit the Sena, but will continue with the legacy of โBalasahebโ.
Reporters questioned whether the faction or the Shiv Sena had a direct connection to the Chief Ministerโs fatherโs legacy, to which Mr. Kesarkar responded, โThe faction would not be a true representation of the party.โ โThis is a constitutional struggle. We are not leaving Balasahebโs ideology. We didnโt do anything wrong or illegalโ.
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