Maha: It's 'Modi-Shah's Shiv Sena’, says Raut after Sena ad claims Shinde more preferred as CM over Fadnavis

Shiv Sena UBT leader Sanjay Raut on Tuesday called the Shindeled faction of the Sena ldquoModiShahs Shiv Sena after the Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shindeled Shiv Sena placed a fullpage advertisement in many newspapers titled ldquoModi for India Shinde for Maharashtrardquo quoting a survey where Shinde is shown as more preferred for the top post than BJPs Devendra FadnavisShiv Sena leader and school education minister Deepak Kesarkar said the Opposition is jealous as Shinde and Fadnavis are working like ldquobrothersrdquoThe advertisement carries Senas bowandarrow symbol and images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and CM Shinde It has no image or photo of Shiv Sena founder late Balasaheb Thackeray a noticeable departure going by its earlier publicity materialsldquoFor the chief ministers position 261 per cent of the people in Maharashtra desire Eknath Shinde and 232 per cent of the people wish to see Devendra Fadnavis as the next chief ministerrdquo reads the advertisementSenior BJP leader Fadnavis was the CM between 2014 and 2019Thus it is undeniable proof that 493 per cent of the people in Maharashtra wish to see a strong alliance between BJP and Shiv Sena for their states leadership it saidThe figures and claims in the advertisement have been attributed to a Zee TVMatrize surveyldquoAccording to the election surveys 302 per cent of citizens of Maharashtra prefer Bharatiya Janata Party while 162 per cent of citizens prefer the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde These numbers show that a total of 464 per cent people of Maharashtra trust the BJP and Eknath Shindeled Shiv Sena alliance for the development of the staterdquo the advertisement saidAlso readAIADMK hits out at BJP chief for remarks against Jaya calls Annamalai irresponsible immatureAccording to a report by Zee News the survey was conducted across all 288 Assembly segments of the state between May 23 and June 11 with the participation of 36000 peopleOf those who took part in the survey 21600 were men and 14400 were women The margin of error in the survey is three per cent plus or minus the report saidResponding to the advertisement Sanjay Raut of the Uddhav Thackerayled Shiv Sena UBT said ldquoIt was Balasahebs Shiv Sena earlier but the advertisement has cleared the air It has now become ModiShahs Shiv Sena Where is the image or photo of late Balasaheb Thackeray in the advertisementrdquoState BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule however tried to downplay the advertisementldquoIt is always the election result that decides which party or leader is more acceptable to the voters Shinde as a cabinet minister was popular earlier and now his acceptance has increased as the chief minister People of the state have lots of expectations from Fadnavis Shinde and ModirdquoAs a statelevel leader the people of Maharashtra have given preference to Fadnavis twice he said ldquoThere is no comparison between the Shiv Sena and BJP about who is a bigger or smaller partyrdquo added BawankuleChief spokesperson of the Maharashtra unit of Congress Atul Londhe called it a ldquofalserdquo survey that he said Shinde has used to promote himselfldquoOnce the election is over Maha Vikas Aghadi will win more than 42 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra and 200 seats in the assembly for sure A new story would be written about him Shinde as once upon a time there was Shinderdquo he saidMaharashtra has 48 Lok Sabha seats and 288 Assembly constituencies Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA partners ldquoShiv Sena UBT Congress and NCP have asserted that they will fight the polls with maximum coordinationBharat Gogawale chief whip of the Shindeled Sena said ldquoWe never manage anyone to get a favourable survey He Shinde is even accessible to people and visits all parts of the state We have not asked any media house to conduct a survey for usrdquoClyde Crasto NCPs national spokesperson claimed the ad must have saddened those who first gave the slogan Desh me Narendra Rajya me Devendra and then with a heavy heart accepted Shinde as the CMldquoNow the BJP versus Shiv Sena entertainment begins in Maharashtrardquo he said adding that the countdown for the Maharashtra Assembly elections has begunCrastos party colleague Mahesh Tapase said the CM is trying to cut to size his deputy Fadnavis and the ad shows that all is not well between the CM and the BJPTapase asserted that Shinde is upset after statements by BJP leaders in Kalyan Lok Sabha constituency demanding the replacement of his son and MP Shrikant Shinde and claiming candidature for the BJPHe said it is good that finally CM Shinde has realised that there cannot be a permanent symbiotic relationship with the BJP that always ends up ldquocannibalizingrdquo its allyldquoBJP will pressurize all Shinde nominees to contest on the lotus symbol or face political isolationrdquo he addedAsked about the advertisement state school education minister Deepak Kesarkar said he had not given it ldquoIf the advertisement is misleading I can ask the person and seek an explanation But making a mountain out of a molehill is inappropriaterdquoHe said the Opposition is trying to instigate the two parties as they are ldquojealousrdquoldquoWe dont have any differences There is no competition to take credit and it is very evident who is trying to create a split Both CM and DCM are working like brothersrdquo Kesarkar said PTI