Leader of Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), Sanjay Raut claimed that a “deal of Rs 2,000 crore” has been filed to “purchase” the Shiv Sena party name and its symbol, the ‘bow and arrow’ on Sunday.
In his tweet, Sanjay Raut mentioned that “deals and transactions worth Rs 2,000 crore have been done so far to get the election symbol and name”. “Soon many things will be revealed.. This had never happened in the history of the country,” the tweet further read.
He added that this tweet is completely true; the Rs 2,000 crore deal was simply a preliminary figure.
News Agency PTI reported that Raut told their reporters that a builder close to the ruling party shared this information with him. He also mentioned that this claim was backed by solid evidence which he plans to disclose very soon.
However, MLA Sada Sarvankar from the other wing of the party led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde dismissed the claim and called these allegations baseless.
On Friday, the Election Commission officially recognized the Eknath Shinde-led wing as the true Shiv Sena and processed orders to allocate the ‘bow and arrow’ poll symbol to the Eknath Shinde-led faction.
In an order on the protracted battle for control of the party, the Election Commission permitted the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction to continue with the “flaming torch” poll symbol allocated to it till the end of the state Assembly bypolls.
Raut on Sunday said Rs 2,000 crore is not a small amount to “purchase” the name Shiv Sena. “The EC’s decision is a deal,” he alleged.
The Shiv Sena had previously broken its alliance with the BJP after the 2019 Assembly polls results were declared, with the former claiming the latter had withdrawn on a promise of sharing the CM’s post with the party.
Later, Uddhav Thackeray teamed up with the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress to lead the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) to form the government in the state, which fell in June last year after the Eknath Shinde rebellion.