Maharashtra assembly elections 2024: Uddhav Thackeray's personal interest led to alliance with Congress, says Eknath Shinde

Days ahead of the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections 2024 Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde accused Uddhav Thackeray of being the reason behind the split in Shiv Sena and said that the Mahavikas Aghadi government was against Balasaheb Thackerays ideals while the Shiv Sena and BJPs alliance was the right way forward reported news agency ANIJustifying the split in the party Shinde said that Uddhav Thackeray formed an alliance with Congress against the will of Balasaheb Thackeray just to serve his personal interests and hence following the partys discipline and to bring change he formed a coalition with the BJP reported ANIIn an exclusive interview with ANI speaking in the split in the party CM Shinde said I was part of the Mahavikas Aghadi government but the government that was formed it was against Balasaheb Thackerays ideals Shiv Sena and BJPs alliance was the right way forward However Uddhav Thackerays personal interests led to an alliance with Congress which Balasaheb never wantedAs Shiv Sena workers we followed party discipline and realized the need for change We attempted to form a Shiv SenaBJP coalition government but we failed and unfortunately the loss our party and workers were bearing we decided to listen to Maharashtras people who wanted a Shiv SenaBJP alliance Our MLAs were also tired as no work was done in their respective constituencies hence we changed the government and formed a new government with the coalition of BJP and Shiv Sena he addedLauding the Mahayuti government CM Shinde expressed pride that this government prioritised peoples interests over personal gains He said that the Mahayuti government restarted the projects that were stalled by the MVA regimeHighlighting Mahayutis achievement CM Shinde said that Maharashtra topped in several spheres whether GDP FDI GST or cleanliness during their regime He added that the state attracted investments of more than Rs 5 lakh crore during their regime only reported ANICM Shinde said Im proud and happy that we prioritized the peoples interests over personal gains In the past two years our government has received praise for its work From the very first day we focused on farmers workers youth and development projects We restarted stalled projects like metro bullet trains and highways making Maharashtra investmentfriendly Today I proudly say weve attracted over Rs 5 lakh crore investments with 7280 per cent execution in the last two and half years During the MVA regime Maharashtra was in third spot but when we came Maharashtra topped in GDP FDI GST and cleanliness Our welfare schemes like Ladli Bahna Yojana etc provide stipends and free higher education to girls Weve achieved a lot in two years and Im gratefulWhen asked about the opposition dubbing his government a puppet of the central government CM Shinde said that ever since the doubleengine government came to power in Maharashtra the state has received several benefits from the centre He said that the hard work of the Mahayuti government has been appreciated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah reported ANIShinde said Im happy that our governments hard work in the past two years is appreciated by PM Narendra Modi and Amit Shah Modi Ji is happy with our work and whenever he comes he gives something to the state Our doubleengine government with the centre and state on the same page has benefited Maharashtra Im committed to serving the common man directly interacting with people and helping those in need reported ANIIn a veiled attack on the previous MVA regime CM Shinde said that being a CM means serving the people and not just running the government through FaceBook Live He emphasised that their government listens and acts and is not deaf or dumbOur government prioritizes farmers providing aid and support Weve allocated Rs 15000 crores for farmers and implemented various schemes This is the farmers government Im proud of our responsive government listening to peoples concerns Were not deaf to their needs The oppositions allegations are unexpected as they underestimated our capabilities For me being CM means serving the people not just sitting in an office or doing Facebook Live Were a government that listens and acts our government is not deaf or dumb he said reported ANIThe Maharashtra assembly elections 2024 is set to take place on November 20 with vote counting for all 288 constituencies scheduled for November 23With inputs from ANI