Mumbai, Apr 15: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Wednesday dismissed reports claiming that he is being elevated as the party’s working president.
“Since morning, there has been news on some TV channels that I am going to be given some position in the party. There is no truth to this news and there is no such discussion in the party,” said the 35-year-old leader in a post on X.
Thackeray was reacting to news reports that he could be elevated to the post of working president, a position his father and Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray once held before taking over the reins of the party after the death of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray.
Aaditya, a former Maharashtra minister, currently heads the Yuva Sena, the youth wing of his party.
A Sena (UBT) leader also denied any such buzz of Thackeray’s elevation.
Raya Sabha member Sanjay Raut, who also belongs to the Sena (UBT), said such decisions are taken by their party chief Uddhav Thackeray.
“If Aaditya Thackeray’s name has cropped up, then it should be welcomed,” Raut said.
He, however, clarified that no such development had taken place and stressed that leadership should be passed on to young people.
The Sena (UBT), which came into existence after current Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde led a revolt and split the original Shiv Sena, has nine members in the Lok Sabha and 20 MLAs in the Maharashtra assembly.
Maharashtra Minister of Social Justice Sanjay Shirsat seized upon the reports to target the Sena (UBT), claiming it has become a “private limited” and that the son is now hinting that the father should retire.
Speaking to reporters in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, he said, “There are many senior leaders in the party, but they have no rights as it has become a ‘private limited’. I don’t think that Aaditya Thackeray has the maturity to handle the party.”
The Shiv Sena leader claimed that the reports are an “indication from Aaditya that his father Uddhav should retire”.
“We saw such an episode earlier during Bal Thackeray’s time, when Uddhav Thackeray became working president of the then Shiv Sena,” he said.
