Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Friday said he was ready to step down as party head if workers no longer had faith in his leadership, amid a deepening internal rebellion that has seen six of the party’s nine Lok Sabha MPs distance themselves from the organisation.
Addressing party workers on the occasion of Shiv Sena Foundation Day, Thackeray said he was willing to hand over the party leadership to “anyone” chosen by the cadre if they felt he was no longer fit to lead. However, he made it clear that he would continue to fight for the party’s ideology regardless of his position.
“I will not give up. But the day you feel I am not righteous for this position, I will leave,” Thackeray said, stressing that he would not cling to the post of party chief.
The Sena (UBT) chief acknowledged growing discontent within sections of the party and expressed regret over the departure of MPs, apologising to voters for electing representatives who had now distanced themselves from the party line. “Today I apologise to voters because they voted for us but our MPs left,” he said.
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The crisis within the Uddhav-led faction has intensified after six of its nine Lok Sabha MPs skipped a key parliamentary party meeting, amid reports that they may align with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. The development is being seen as one of the most serious organisational setbacks for Thackeray since the 2022 split in the undivided Shiv Sena.
Thackeray also pushed back against criticism that he was inaccessible to party leaders, arguing that Shiv Sena had itself created many of its current leaders. He questioned how such leaders had managed to win elections if he was allegedly unavailable.
Defending his party’s alliance choices, Thackeray reiterated that there would be no merger with the Congress despite the ongoing opposition alliance dynamics. He said past alliances with the BJP had also never led to a merger. He also defended the Shiv Sena (UBT)’s ideological positioning, asserting that political differences did not amount to surrender.
“If for 30 years we were with the BJP and did not merge with the BJP, how will we merge with Congress?” he asked.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde launched a sharp counterattack at a parallel Sena Foundation Day event, accusing Thackeray of abandoning Balasaheb Thackeray’s ideology by aligning with the Congress and the NCP, further widening the political divide between the two Sena factions.
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