The Opposition NCP on Thursday suffered a second major jolt ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly polls to be held in October this year, as its Mumbai unit president Sachin Ahir joined the ruling Shiv Sena.
Two months after NCP’s senior leader, Beed district in Marathwada region, Jaydutta Kshirsagar switched to the Shiv Sena, Ahir joined Sena along with his supporters in the presence of its president Uddhav Thackeray at the latter’s Bandra residence “Matoshri”.
Sena’s youth wing president Aditya Thackeray welcomed Ahir — who was accompanied by his wife Sangeeta and supporters — by tying a red thread on the former’s hand symbolising ‘Shiv Bandhan’ and handing him a miniature party flag.
A former NCP MLA from Worli in south-central Mumbai, Ahir had informally met Uddhav and expressed his keenness to join the Shiv Sena. “Ahir’s entry to the Shiv Sena is of considerable significance. Ahir and I were in touch with each other for several days. I facilitated a meeting between him and Sena president Uddhav Thackeray,” Aditya revealed.
Talking to media persons ahead of his entry to the Sena, Ahir said: “Sometimes one has to take hard decisions. Only time will tell whether my decision (to join the Shiv Sena) is proper or not. I am happy that I am joining the Shiv Sena. At the same time, I am not so happy to leave the Shiv Sena”.
Later after his formal entry to the Shiv Sena, Ahir said: “I am impressed by the development initiatives taken by Aditya Thackeray. I have so far been carrying pout development works in my area. I will continue to undertake people-specific works in a much bigger way in the way in the coming years as well”.
Forty-seven-year-old Ahir, who had steadily moved up within the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) ranks to become its Mumbai unit president, expressed his gratitude towards NCP founder-president Sharad Pawar. “I am going from one stream of ideology to another. I tried to meet Pawar saheb. I wanted to tell him about my plans to join the Shiv Sena. But, I could neither meet him nor talk to him over phone. But, Pawar saheb will always have a permanent place in my heart. But, I had in the past briefed him about the situation in my constituency in the past," Ahir said. Ahir’s entry to the Shiv Sena comes on the heels of NCP’s former minister Jaydutta Kshirsagar joining the Sena. Kshirsagar, it may be recalled, had joined the Sena on May 22, 2019. Kshirsagar was subsequently inducted into the Maharashtra Cabinet, when chief minister Devendra Fadnavis expanded his Cabinet on June 16, 2019.