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The feud between Shiv Sena-UBT and BJP was triggered over a report by Shiv Sena’s mouthpiece Saamna alleging land grabbing in Mumbai.
War of words escalates as Uddhav likens BJP to an “anaconda”; Bawankule and Eknath Shinde fired back, calling him the “python” who devoured Mumbai. (IMAGE: PTI FILE)
After the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) faction (UBT) launched a dual attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the ruling party on Tuesday hit back, accusing Uddhav Thackeray of “swallowing his own party” like a python.
Maharashtra Revenue Minister and BJP state chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule called Thackeray an “ajgar” (python), saying, “Uddhav Thackeray is the python who has swallowed his own party,” in an apparent reference to the old, undivided Shiv Sena, which is now split into two factions.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde accused Uddhav Thackeray of corruption and also likened him to an “anaconda” coiled around Mumbai’s coffers (tijori).
“An anaconda’s stomach is never full. He devoured Mumbai’s treasury. He grabbed land plots. He swallowed patients’ khichdi. He even ate money meant for body bags,” Shinde said, in apparent references to the khichdi scam, in which meals for Covid patients were allegedly overpriced by about ₹5 crore, and the body bag procurement scam, where bags for Covid victims were reportedly purchased at nearly ₹2,000 each instead of ₹400, causing losses of several crores to the exchequer.
The Shiv Sena, once a unified party founded by Bal Thackeray in 1966 on the platform of Marathi pride and Hindutva, formally split in 2022 after a bitter power struggle. The rift emerged when senior leader Eknath Shinde led a rebellion against Uddhav Thackeray’s leadership, accusing him of abandoning the party’s core ideology by aligning with the Congress and NCP under the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition.
The revolt saw a majority of Sena MLAs shift allegiance to Shinde, who went on to form a new government in Maharashtra with the BJP’s support. The Election Commission later recognised Shinde’s faction as the “real Shiv Sena,” awarding it the party’s name and the iconic bow-and-arrow symbol, while Uddhav Thackeray’s group was renamed Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) or Sena (UBT). The split marked the end of an era for the Thackeray family’s uncontested control over the party.
The BJP’s sharp retort came after Uddhav Thackeray on Monday likened BJP’s top leaders to an “anaconda” and “Abdali” — a reference to 18th-century Afghan invader Ahmad Shah Abdali — during a fiery speech at a party function at the NSCI Dome in Worli.
Thackeray accused the BJP of trying to “swallow” Mumbai through political manipulation and land grabbing, vowing to resist any such move. Earlier, the Shiv Sena (UBT) mouthpiece Saamna, in its editorial, had alleged that the BJP’s new party office was built “by grabbing land in lightning speed.”
The Sena (UBT) chief also compared the ruling party’s senior leaders to a newly introduced anaconda at Mumbai’s Jijamata Udyaan, also known as Victoria Gardens or Byculla Zoo.
Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a Chief Sub-Editor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over seven years of experience during which he has covered se…Read More
Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a Chief Sub-Editor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over seven years of experience during which he has covered se… Read More
October 28, 2025, 10:51 IST
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