Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra Health Minister Tanaji Sawant has made a sensational claim about how he executed the plan to topple Uddhav Thackeray’s government when he was denied a cabinet berth.
Sawant, who was addressing people in Paranada town of Dharashiv district during a local wrestling competition, said, “I had done a good job when the Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena government was in power, but I was still denied a cabinet berth. At that moment, I decided not to come back to Matoshree or Uddhav Thackeray again.”
Elaborating on the strategy, Sawant said, “With the help of Devendra Fadnavis, we won the Zilla Parishad (ZP) elections by allying with the BJP at local level. That was my first open revolt against Thackeray. Post that, I started meeting Shiv Sena MLAs and leaders and tried to convince them. I took approximately more than 150 meetings across the state to change the minds of Shiv Sena MLAs. Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis helped me a lot and we managed to topple the government of Uddhav Thackeray.”
According to Sawant, Thackeray had rejected the mandate given by people in the 2019 elections. “People had voted for the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance, but he allied with Sharad Pawar and the Congress to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi. When I was not given cabinet rank, I met Thackeray and told him that I will not climb the stairs of your house again.”
On December 30, cabinet expansion happened again, in which Sawant was not given a berth.
“At that moment, I decided to take the first step of rebellion. On January 3, on the orders of Fadnavis, we formed the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in Dharashiv Zilla Parishad and acquired power. Post this ZP election, I was in touch with Fadnavis and Shinde. I also met Shiv Sena MLAs from Vidarbha, Marathwada and Western Maharashtra,” he said.
This is the first time any Shinde camp leader has revealed the name of Fadnavis as the mastermind behind toppling the Thackeray-led MVA in the state. So far, Fadnavis has maintained that the BJP or he was not involved in toppling the government.
Sawant’s claim is set to put Fadnavis in an uncomfortable position.
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