Farm Leader Quits Shiv Sena (UBT) Over Possible MNS Tie-Up

Mumbai: A prominent leader from Vidarbha and former chairman of the Farmers’ Mission Kishor Tiwari on Monday resigned from the Shiv Sena (UBT), expressing opposition to any potential alliance with the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). Tiwari said the party’s success in the Lok Sabha elections was supported by Hindi-speaking and Muslim voters and a tie-up with the MNS could affect this section of the electorate.

Tiwari made it clear that Shiv Sena (UBT) will suffer from an alliance with MNS alleging that Raj Thackeray and his party had in the past campaigned against the non-Marathi and Muslim community. “Sometimes the Hindi speakers were attacked (by the MNS) and sometimes they created a dispute over the Azan from the mosques,” he said.

Tiwari also claimed that MNS has no longer left with any solid vote bank and the talks of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS alliance is a BJP’s conspiracy. He said, “The BJP wants Shiv Sena (UBT) to be weakened and defeated in municipal elections of 11 cities including Mumbai. I appeal to Uddhav Thackeray not to play into BJP’s hands.”

The Vidarbha-based leader said that the Shiv Sena (UBT) should strengthen its ties with the Congress and other opposition parties, so that the united forces of the opposition can challenge the BJP. But as Uddhav Thackeray did not agree with him, I have quit the party, he added.

Tiwari said he will continue to protest against the Modi government and oppose the anti-farmer policies of the BJP governments.

In the past too, Tiwari, who joined Shiv Sena (UBT) in 2019 after leaving the BJP, had accused senior party leaders like Sanjay Raut, Vinayak Raut, Arvind Sawant, and Milind Narvekar, Uddhav Thackeray’s personal assistant, of weakening the party by favouring undeserving politicians in exchange of monetary gains.