Uddhav Thackeray 'expels' two Shiv Sena ex-ministers

Mumbai: Continuing with his desperate measures to consolidate the party, Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray on Monday expelled two senior leaders and ex-ministers for anti-party activities.

The expelled leaders are former state minister Ramdas Kadam and former Union minister Anandrao Adsul, who have been accused of indulging in anti-party activities as the ground for their expulsion.

The move came amid intense speculation in Mumbai and New Delhi that a dozen Shiv Sena MPs are likely to join the group of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and could announce their decision soon.

Earlier on Monday, Kadam, whose MLA son Yogesh Kadam had joined the Shinde camp last month, had tendered his resignation as the deputy leader of Shiv Sena.

In his resignation letter, he said that after the demise of Balasaheb Thackeray, the post of deputy leader had lost value and also highlighted how he and his son were harassed by the party leadership.

Kadam expressed his grouse over how he was reportedly 'gagged' by the party leadership for the past nearly three years, when he was not allowed to speak to the media for reasons still not known to him.

He reminded Uddhav Thackeray of how he "requested with folded hands" not to ally with the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party after the 2019 Assembly elections, as it would be contrary to the thoughts of Balasaheb Thackeray, but he was ignored.

Last week, Thackeray had appointed around 100 office-bearers in the party organisation at various levels in Mumbai and other districts in a bid to consolidate the grassroots apparatus and prevent 'leaks' to the Shinde side.

The spokesperson of the Shinde group, Deepak Kesarkar, reacted by saying that nobody has the right to expel senior Sena leaders like Kadam and Adsul.