Raut rubs salt, says Shinde has outlived his utility, Maha to get new CM

Mumbai: The Shiv Sena (UBT) has said that with the entry of breakaway Nationalist Congress Party into the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party government, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has “outlived his utility,” and the state is poised to get a new CM soon, here on Wednesday.

Sena (UBT) MP and Chief Spokesperson Sanjay Raut said that the induction of another around 40 NCP MLAs into the Sena-BJP government that was already enjoying a 170-MLAs majority “is beyond the understanding of the ordinary masses”.

“This was quite expected but for Shinde and his supporters it implies that ‘you are no longer needed’. I repeat – the state will definitely get a new CM very soon,” declared Raut- who had said on Sunday that Shinde’s chair was in danger.

Speaking to mediapersons here, he added, how, tired by the alleged harassment of Ajit Pawar, Chhagan Bhujbal, and others, Shinde had rebelled from the Shiv Sena, toppled the Maha Vikas Aghadi government led by ex-CM Uddhav Thackeray government to join hands with the BJP and grabbed power in June 2022.

“Now, Shinde will have to work in the government with the very same NCP leaders,” said Raut with a smile, referring to the second new Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and eight others of his team who created a political earthquake by splitting from the NCP to join the Shinde-Fadnavis regime as ministers on July 2.

Taking a swipe at the CM, he said that with the induction of Ajit Pawar’s group, the Shinde camp has been left high and dry (“na ghar ka, na ghat ka”), and only he (Shinde) is to be blamed for his predicament.

Amid the purported rumblings over the latest political happenings in the ruling alliance, Raut threw the gauntlet at those who had quit the Shiv Sena in 2022 citing the alleged hounding by Ajit Pawar and others: “They should resign immediately”.