Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena MLA from the Konkan coastal region Rajan Salvi has resigned from the post of deputy leader of the party at the Shiv Sena Bhavan office, giving a fillip to ‘Operation Tiger’ being masterminded by Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, to lure away leaders from the original Sena.
Sources said Salvi will join the Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena on Thursday in the presence of Shinde himself in Thane at 3 pm.
The development came after days of speculation over Salvi quitting the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena. It is being seen as a big setback to Sena chief Udhhav Thackeray at a time when he is preparing for the municipal and local body elections to be held in Maharashtra in four months. Besides, the coastal Konkan region has been the cradle and fortress of the Shiv Sena for decades and a setback in the crucial bastion could damage the prospects of the Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena, sources said.
Sources said Rajan Salvi was known to be a loyalist as well as senior Shiv Sainik right from the time of the undivided Shiv Sena and was close to the late Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray for decades. He is also known to command the respect and loyalty of a large number of Shiv Sena workers in Konkan.
Rajan Salvi was defeated in the 2024 Maharashtra assembly elections and lost to Eknath Shinde-led MLA Kiran Samant, from Rajapur assembly constituency in the coastal Konkan region.
Salvi was also one of the few MLAs who remained loyal to Uddhav Thackeray even after Eknath Shinde rebelled. After the fall of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) was after Rajan Salvi and his wife. Yet, Salvi chose to rough it out and remain firmly loyal to Uddhav Thackeray, sources said.
However, things turned bitter after former Thackeray-led Shiv Sena MP Vinayak Raut did not help Salvi during the assembly elections which he lost. This led to internal squabbles within the Thackeray-led Sena, according to sources.
When Vinayak Raut and Rajan Salvi went to Matoshree to settle the matter, Uddhav Thackeray harshly reprimanded Salvi and Thackeray’s message seemed to be that if Salvi wants to join another party, the doors are open to do so. Rajan Salvi was deeply hurt due to this, sources said.
Taking this opportunity, the BJP and the Shinde-led Shiv Sena began wooing Rajan Salvi who was in a dilemma whether to leave Thackeray’s party or not. Initially, Salvi was attracted to the BJP. However, later on Eknath Shinde managed to lure Rajan Salvi, sources said.
Rajan Salvi is known as a hardworking Shiv Sena worker and a down-to-earth leader. If he joins the Shinde’s Sena, the Mahayuti ruling party’s strength in Konkan will increase, sources said.