Mumbai: The Shinde camp is hitting Uddhav Thackeray camp where it hurts the most, the maternal side of Aaditya Thackeray. On Monday evening, the Shinde camp met and decided to resurrect Yuva Sena, of which Aaditya Thackeray is the president and his maternal cousin Varun Sardesai is the secretary. There is a major move being planned, which is replacing Aaditya Thackeray with Shrikant Shinde, as Yuva Sena chief, though not now, but soon.
On Monday evening, the Shinde camp decided to relieve Varun Sardesai of the post of secretary and instead appointed another secretary, the new appointment is of Kiran Saali, who was the joint secretary of the Yuva Sena and shifted sides on Monday.
The Yuva Sena was formed in 2010, when the Sena patriarch late Balasaheb Thackeray during the year’s Dusshera Rally at Shivaji Park formally launched the youth wing of Shiv Sena and Aaditya Thackeray as the president.
Since then, Aaditya Thackeray has held the post, and later even inducted his maternal cousin Varun Sardesai. Sardesai, holds a degree of MS Civil Engineering (Columbia University), he became active in politics from his engineering days in Navi Mumbai’s engineering college where he led the student’s wing of Shiv Sena, the Bhartiya Vidyarthi Sena.
However, then he left for his further studies to a foreign land and post his return, he was made the secretary of Yuva Sena. Since then, he has played an important role in the party. During the MVA government many senior leaders complained that it was more of Varun Sardesai running the show than the actual leaders and MLAs.
“When we met yesterday, it was decided that Varun Sardesai needs to go, there were many complaints, even MLAs complained about him and now we are restructuring Yuva Sena, where new secretaries have been instituted in place of Varun Sardesai,” said a senior leader from the Shinde camp.
Meanwhile, Uddhav Thackeray camp asserted that, Varun Sardesai is still the secretary of Yuva Sena. “We have come to know that one of the joint secretaries from Yuva Sena joined hands with Shinde camp and he was promoted as secretary. There were already three secretaries in Yuva Sena, which were Varun Sardesai, Purvesh Sarnaik and Durga Bhosle-Shinde and they all still remain as they were,” said a source from Uddhav camp.
Answering a big question, whether Sena scion Aadtiya Thackeray will be replaced by Ekanth Shinde’s son Shrikant Shinde. According to a source from Shinde camp, right now Purvesh Sarnaik, a former corporator and son of Thane MLA Pratap Sarnaik, is being elevated and he will be made general secretary of Yuva Sena. “Sarnaik will be moving across the state along with other leaders, and creating support for Shinde camp amongst the youth. The plan is to make Shrikant Shinde the Yuva Sena chief in the long run, but no decision yet on the same.”
Apart from being the son of CM Eknath Shinde, Shrikant Shinde is a two time Member of Parliament from the Shiv Sena, he represents Kalyan parliamentary constituency in the Lok Sabha. During the revolt, he held fort in Thane and even showed the strength of his aides on the streets.
Ministry Expansion
Sources claim, post the Supreme Court hearing scheduled in various matters related to the disqualification and formation of government in Maharashtra, which is scheduled on Wednesday, there are high chances of the first batch of cabinet expansion on Thursday which is July 21, post which the second cabinet expansion will be concluded before August 10.
