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BJP MLA Ashishrao Deshmukh on Wednesday claimed that Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut was working towards a merger of Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and Sharad Pawar's faction with the Congress.
Speaking to ANI, Deshmukh said, "I have heard that Sanjay Raut wants all UBT MLAs and MPs to merge with Congress. With this, Sharad Pawar will be appointed the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, and Uddhav Thackeray will be appointed president of the Maharashtra Congress. Sanjay Raut is working on this. Being upset with such a development, UBT MPs might have come to Delhi to meet the Lok Sabha Speaker. He further alleged that he had "credible information" suggesting that Raut intended to facilitate the merger of Uddhav Thackeray's party and Sharad Pawar's party with the Congress. Deshmukh also took a swipe at the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader, saying, "People have stopped taking Sanjay Raut's everyday statements seriously." His remarks come amid intense political speculation in Maharashtra over the future of Shiv Sena (UBT), with reports suggesting that a section of the party's MPs may break away. However, no official announcement regarding any split has been made by the party. Maharashtra is currently witnessing "Operation Tiger" buzz amid speculation that seven of the nine UBT MPs were in touch with Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and looking to join the ruling party. Back in 2022, Shinde, along with several MLAs, broke away from Uddhav Thackeray, splitting the party into two. Further, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut on Wednesday took a swipe at the alleged attempts to engineer defections, claiming that the "Minimum Support Price" of an MP had been fixed at Rs 50 crore and that Rs 15 crore was "merely an advance amount". Responding to an X post by Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra, Raut wrote, "Apna Sapna Money Money! No, no Mahua ji, the Minimum Support Price is fixed at 50 crore per MP.(pcaas khoke) 15 crore is just the advance. Frankly, these people aren't even worth 50,000. Their price has only gone up because of the Shiv Sena and TMC brand label." Earlier on Tuesday, replying to the Raut X post, Moitra made a sarcastic remark over the alleged monetary inducements offered to legislators and MPs. (ANI)
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