Days ahead of the commencement of the next session of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) on Monday (November 25) elected its Worli MLA Aaditya Thackeray as its legislature party leader.
According to the information released, party leaders unanimously supported the election of Aaditya Thackeray, who retained his Worli seat in the recently concluded Assembly Elections against Shiv Sena's top contestant Milind Deora. Aaditya won with a margin of 8,801 votes, polling a total of 63,324 votes, while Milind Deora secured 54,523 votes, and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena’s Sandeep Sudhakar Deshpande garnered 19,367 votes.
During the legislators’ meeting in Mumbai today, the Shiv Sena (UBT) also announced that senior leader Bhaskar Jadhav (who has been elected from the Guhagar seat with a margin of 2830 votes) was elected as the leader of the party in the Legislative Assembly, and Sunil Prabhu (who defeated Shiv Sena candidate Sanjay Nirupam from Dindoshi seat with a margin of 6182 votes) was appointed as the chief whip.
Shinde’s party defeats Uddhav’s outfit
Moreover, the announcements come in the wake of a crushing defeat for the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction in the recently concluded Maharashtra Assembly Elections. The party, a key constituent of the opposition-led Maha Vikas Aghadi, managed to secure only 20 seats, while its splintered group led by Eknath Shinde, part of the ruling Mahayuti coalition, secured 57 seats—a significant victory since the party’s division in 2022.
'We will make a comeback'
Significantly, reflecting on the party’s performance in the assembly polls, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray asserted that they will make a strong comeback in future. He said, "Thank you all for the messages of support and blessings. The election has surely been something beyond explanation, and to see such support and blessings is truly encouraging."
"We will make a comeback stronger than before, and build our state better than before, for everyone," he added.