Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad's banner omits Eknath Shinde, Shiv Sena symbol: A sign of growing discord?

In an interesting development, a banner featuring Buldhana MLA Sanjay Gaikwad has appeared in his constituency, but without party chief Eknath Shinde’s picture or the ‘bow and arrow’ symbol. This comes as Shinde publicly admonished Shiv Sena leaders who were causing embarrassment to the party through their  actions. Though the Deputy Chief Minister didn’t take Gaikwad’s name, Shinde’s remarks came just after Gaikwad slapped a canteen operator at the Akashvani MLA hostel in Mumbai.

The banner, put up at Chikhli in Buldhana as part of Shiv Sena’s dialogue meeting, prominently featured Gaikwad, clad in a saffron robe, along with his son. The striking omission of Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s image soon caught onlookers’ eye. This is despite the party diktat that every banner of official events bears photos of senior leaders, and the party name and symbol.

Interestingly, when this was raised at the meeting, Gaikwad gave a tactful reply, stating that “Shinde and Balasaheb Thackeray were in our hearts”. The MLA dodged questions on whether he was upset with the leadership, according to ABP Majha.

Gaikwad, a controversial figure, ran into trouble last month after videos showed him slapping a canteen staff member, which attracted widespread criticism. The MLA said he was compelled to react in a “Shiv Sena style” as his previous complaints regarding the food's quality were not addressed. To this, Shinde said: "In the past few days, certain incidents have taken place... People don't point fingers at you - they point at me for what you do. They ask me: 'What are your MLAs up to?".

Meanwhile, there are reports about displeasure within the Shiv Sena Shinde faction with the delay in the formation of the Mumbai executive committee, despite it being a year since the municipal elections.  Even though a year has passed since the municipal elections, the Shinde group has not announced the Mumbai executive committee. Due to this, the office bearers of the Shinde group in Mumbai are currently confused. No meeting of the office bearers has been held in Mumbai in the last year. 

India