Defection Wave Engineered to Block Devendra Fadnavis's 2029 PM Bid, Claims Aaditya Thackeray

Amid the ongoing defection wave in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray claims the rebellion is engineered to block Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis from the 2029 prime ministerial race.

In an interview, Thackeray said the political shifts directly benefit Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, whose "single-point agenda is to become chief minister again", as reported by Hindustan Times.

"Some elements in the BJP want Fadnavis in the Union cabinet to clip his wings," Thackeray said.

Last week, Uddhav Thackeray made a similar claim, saying 'Operation Devendra' was at play to keep the chief minister "at a certain level" and in check.

Fadnavis Dismisses Claims

Fadnavis rubbished the 'Operation Devendra' assertions, saying he does not have wings to clip.

"I am a human being. I don't have wings, so who can clip them? I have the blessings of Maharashtra's 14 crore people and my senior leaders, so there is no need to worry," Fadnavis said.

His remarks came after six UBT Sena MPs defected to the Shinde Sena, considerably improving the NDA's tally in Parliament. In another blow to the UBT Sena, former MLA Sachin Ahir, a close aide of Aaditya Thackeray, switched to the Shinde Sena earlier this week and was elected deputy chairman of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.

Commercialisation of Politics

Thackeray rejected defectors' allegations of inactivity within the UBT Sena. He cited the defections within the Aam Aadmi Party in the Rajya Sabha, the ongoing Parliament crisis in the Trinamool Congress, and the split in Sharad Pawar's party, despite their active leadership. The BJP, he said, wants to "crush the voice of Maharashtra".

"What about Arvind Kejriwal, Sharad Pawar, Mamata Banerjee? Don’t they meet their MPs? Still, there parties were split. As MPs, MLAs, they are local leaders. Why didn’t they stage protests on ground over local issues? The truth is, that they put a price tag on themselves and sold out," Thackeray said.

He alleged that money, not political ideology, drove the decisions to jump ship.

"When it comes to the MLC [Sachin Ahir], that was another business deal. The sad part is politics is now so commercialised that MPs and MLAs can be bought for a price," Thackeray said.

"They were bought out by Mindhe [Eknath Shinde] to empower the BJP to bring in the delimitation bill, which is against the interests of Maharashtra and to change Dr Ambedkar’s Constitution," Thackeray said. He added that the endgame is to strengthen the tally of northern states in the Lok Sabha, crushing the voice of Maharashtra and the southern states.