Kejriwal first meets Uddhav in the midst of the bow-and-arrow dispute; he declares, “He is sher ka beta.”
On Friday, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, and top AAP leaders Sanjay Singh and MP Raghav Chadha visited the residence of former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai. Aaditya Thackeray was also present for the AAP leaders’ reception. According to reports, Uddhav Thackeray invited Kejriwal and the AAP leaders to his home for tea. The conference takes place at a time when the Shiv Sena name and the bow-and-arrow emblem have been transferred to Eknath Shinde and the Aam Aadmi Party is mired in an alleged liquor scam and a snooping case in Delhi.
After rumours circulated that Kejriwal and Uddhav discussed an electoral partnership, Kejriwal stated, “There is only one party in India that focuses about elections 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We’re not that group. There are other concerns before us, such as the farmers and unemployment. “We shall discuss the election when it occurs.”
“Everything about Uddhavji’s party has been taken, including its name and symbol. However, I will tell one thing: his father was a sher, and he himself is sher ka beta. As he has the backing of the people, I am convinced that he will receive justice from the Supreme Court and win the upcoming elections,” Kejriwal added.
Questions have also been raised about Bhagwant Mann’s presence in Mumbai at a time when Punjab is on the boil due to the muscle flexing of extremist Khalistani leader Amritpal Singh. Toofan was released on Friday, a day after a massive brawl between Amritpal Singh’s supporters and the police over the detention of Lovepreet Toofan in an alleged kidnapping case.
The chief minister Eknath Shinde-led Sena was granted both the right to be recognised as the original Shiv Sena and to use the bow-and-arrow symbol by the electoral commission after months of struggle. The Uddhav faction has filed a petition with the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court did not issue a restraining order against the electoral commission’s decision and instead notified the Shinde camp. The Uddhav Thackeray group informed the Supreme Court that the Shinde faction might form the government in Maharashtra as a result of two Supreme Court judgements that “disturbed the co-equal and mutual balance” between the state’s judicial and legislative branches.
