In a fresh jolt to the Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Yuva Sena, Rahul Kanal — a close friend of MLA Aditya Thackeray — will join the ruling ally Shiv Sena on Saturday (July 1).
When contacted by IANS, Kanal confirmed the development but declined to elaborate.
Interestingly, Kanal will dump the Yuva Sena on a day when Aditya Thackeray plans to lead a maha-morcha in south Mumbai to protest against the corruption in the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Saturday.
A member of the Yuva Sena Core Committee and a Thackeray family friend for years, Kanal had already started dissociating from various party activities and responsibilities for the past couple of months.
Stated to be disgruntled over various issues and ‘style of functioning’ of some senior leaders, Kanal will follow the footsteps of several young leaders like Samadhan Sarvankar, Siddhesh Kadam, Amey Ghole among others.
Rewarded with a Trusteeship of the Shri Shirdi Saibaba Sansthan Trust, Kanal was tipped to be given a Sena (UBT) ticket for a coveted Assembly constituency in the western suburbs.
Barely a fortnight ago, another senior leader, Sena (UBT) MLC and Spokesperson Dr. Manisha Kayande had walked out to join the Shiv Sena.