Dynasty Politics: Party Needed Well-Educated, Young Face, Says Shinde on Son’s LS Ticket

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday hit back at Shiv Sena (UBT) head Uddhav Thackeray over the latter’s statements on dynastic politics.

Thackeray had asked people to end dynastic politics while addressing gatherings on his tour of Kalyan Lok Sabha seat, which is represented by Shinde’s son Shrikant Shinde, on Saturday.

Thackeray had also said giving Shinde’s son a ticket was a mistake.

Justifying his son’s candidature, Shinde said,” It was the requirement of the party in that period. The party was seeking a well-educated and young face to be fielded in the Lok Sabha election. It gave ticket to Shrikant and we won. Our party’s tally increased.” Shinde said while Prime Minister Narendra Modi was taking the country ahead rapidly, Thackeray’s chief ministership, between late 2019 and June 2022, had taken Maharashtra back by more than 10 years.

“That’s why we toppled his government. It is unfortunate several infrastructure projects were stopped only to satisfy one’s ego,” he claimed.

Shinde said Thackeray’s allegations don’t carry any value as the latter gets critical of institutions when a decision goes against him.

Notably, Thackeray himself belongs to a political family, as his father Bal Thackeray was the founder of the Shiv Sena. Uddhav Thackeray’s son Aaditya was a minister in the previous state government.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)