Major clash erupts between Uddhav & Shinde factions in Maharashtra's Thane; FIR lodged

Maharashtra police on Monday midnight lathi-charged after a clash broke out between Eknath Shinde and Uddhav Thackeray Shiv Sena factions in Thane. Both party members have levelled allegations against each other, and now FIR has been filed against both.

Some videos of the incident go viral on social media

The incident took place late on Monday night, following which the supporters of both factions went to Shri Nagar police station in Thane to lodge a complaint against each other. A group of people allegedly attacked the supporters of former CM Uddhav Thackeray outside the police station, following which police resorted to lathi-charge to disperse them.

Lok Sabha member Rajan Vichare, who supports the Uddhav-led faction, has alleged hooliganism by supporters of the Sena camp headed by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, on the other hand, the Shinde group's spokesperson and former Mayor Naresh Mhaske dismissed Vichare's allegations and claimed everything was "well planned to defame them" and that members of the Thackeray camp had created trouble at the venue.

Uddhav vs Shinde Shiv Sena factions

This comes three days after  a senior leader of the Uddhav- led Shiv Sena faction and party MP Gajanan Kirtikar jumped ship and joined hands with Eknath Shinde-led Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena in the presence of Chief Minister Shinde during an event at Ravindra Natyamandir in Dadar. Before defecting to Shinde's Sena, he visited the Maharashtra Chief Minister at his official residence ‘Varsha’ for Ganpati darshan. Appalled by it, Kirtikar was expelled from the Uddhav faction, accusing him of anti-party activities.

In June, Eknath Shinde and 39 other Sena legislators had rebelled against the party leadership, following which the Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government collapsed. On June 30, Shinde was sworn in as the CM along with BJP's Devendra Fadnavis as his deputy.