CM Eknath Shinde. File picture
| Photo Credit: PTI
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is most certainly to visit Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh on April 6 together with all MLAs and MPs of his Shiv Sena faction, stated sources on Wednesday.
Mr. Shinde’s visit to the holy metropolis has been on the playing cards for practically a month. His Ayodhya tour, the place the CM will take part in rituals alongside the Sarayu river after which supply worship to Lord Ram, comes after the Election Commission of India (ECI) awarded the ‘Shiv Sena’ identify and the celebration’s ‘bow and arrow’ image to Mr. Shinde’s ‘rebel’ faction in his ongoing tussle with Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray’s Sena group.
Over the previous 12 months, the holy website of Ayodhya has been a hotbed of competing ‘Hindutva’ events together with the undivided Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray, the BJP, the MNS and now the Eknath Shinde-led Sena.
`Show of energy’
In June final 12 months, throughout former Maharashtra Minister Aaditya Thackeray’s visit, there was a problem seen to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and a ‘show of strength’ on the a part of the nonetheless-undivided Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray.
At the time, Mr. Thackeray was the Chief Minister of the tripartite Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) authorities, which included the ideologically opposed Congress and Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
Since the formation of the MVA in Maharashtra in late 2019 following the State Assembly election which led to the Sena breaking its ties with the BJP, Mr. Thackeray had come beneath fireplace from the BJP and its ‘covert’ ally— the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS)— who taunted Uddhav Thackeray of getting forsaken his ‘Hindutva’ credentials.
In a riposte to Uddhav, Raj Thackeray— his estranged cousin— too, was on account of go to Ayodhya however the visit in the end got here a cropper owing to vocal opposition from BJP MP Brij Bhushan Singh, who had demanded an apology from Mr. Raj Thackeray on account of the MNS’ previous mistreatment of north Indians in Maharashtra, and the celebration’s regional chauvinism.
Incidentally, Mr. Shinde was a part of Aaditya Thackeray’s practice journey through the latter’s visit to Ayodhya on June 15 final 12 months. Barely two weeks later, Mr. Shinde staged a revolt which cut up the Shiv Sena management and toppled Uddhav Thackeray’s MVA authorities.
According to Shinde faction leaders, the mahant of Ayodhya had himself given Mr. Shinde an invite to visit town and stated that the CM can be honouring the invite together with his visit in April.
