While speculations are rife over a possibility of defections between the ruling and opposition parties, the Shiv Sena claimed a prize catch from among the independents supporting the Maha Vikas Aghadi government. Claiming the move was a strategic part of the party's 'Mission 151 for the year 2024', the Sena inducted Soil and Water Conservation Minister Shankarrao Gadakh into the party fold on Tuesday, giving itself a big boost in the Ahmednagar district where it doesn't have a single MLA.

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray welcomed Gadakh to the Sena at his Kalanagar residence. The Sena secretary and Thackeray's personal assistant, Milind Narvekar, engineered Gadakh's move. Gadakh, an independent from Nevasa, had extended support to the Sena after the 2019 elections. Sena president Thackeray made him a cabinet minister when the MVA came into power.