Ramdas Athawale, the Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, has attributed the party’s division to Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut and said that Uddhav Thackeray only formed an alliance with the NCP at Raut’s urging.

Mr. Athawale stated in a statement to ANI, “Shiv Sena was broken by Sanjay Raut, not Sharad Pawar. Only at Sanjay Raut’s request did Uddhav Thackeray decide to join the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).”

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena administrations would have taken office in Maharashtra, according to the Union Minister, if Shiv Sena and the NCP had not united.

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Shiv Sena and NCP joining resulted in Maha Vikas Aghadi, which led to the formation of the BJP and Shiv Sena administration in Maharashtra, according to Mr. Athawale.

Before, former Maharashtra minister Ramdas Kadam said that NCP leader Sharad Pawar had methodically undermined the party and that he had broken the Shiv Sena.

“We all found it unacceptable that the Shiv Sena leader’s son was seated next to Congress and NCP ministers. Sena would not have even 10 MLAs if Eknath Shinde had not taken this action “said Mr. Kadam.

“After 52 years of service, I was let go from the party. The MLAs who followed Eknath Shinde are appreciated, “added he.

Rahul Shewale said that Uddhav Thackeray was prepared to form an alliance with the BJP and that their hour-long meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi was unsuccessful because of certain Shiv Sena MLAs’ intransigence.

In response, the Minister said that when Shiv Sena partnered with NCP, “I had already stated that this went against Balasaheb Uddhav Thackeray’s choice. There would have been no impasse if Udhav Thackeray had first joined the BJP and accepted the position of Deputy Chief Minister.”