Palghar, Oct 29: Upset over being denied ticket by his party, sitting Shiv Sena MLA from Maharashtra's Palghar, Shrinivas Vanga, has said he committed a "grave mistake" of siding with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and joining his party.

Srinivas, the son of late BJP MP Chintaman Vanga, became an MLA after winning the 2019 assembly elections as a candidate of undivided Shiv Sena from the Palghar (Scheduled Tribes) seat. After a split in the Shiv Sena, Vanga supported Shinde. He was hoping to get renominated from the seat by the party.

However, the party gave candidature to former MP Rajendra Gavit, who had also sided with Shinde when he rebelled against Uddhav Thackeray's leadership in June 2022.

In its list of 20 nominees announced on Sunday, the Shiv Sena fielded Gavit from the Palghar assembly constituency.

After learning that he has been denied re-nomination by the party, a visibly upset Vanga told reporters on Monday, "I made a grave mistake by joining the Shinde-led faction."

He also described Shinde's rival and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray as a "dev manus" (Godlike man).

Talking to news channels, his family members expressed concern over his present state of mind, and said he has not only stopped interacting with them and having food, but is also crying and threatening to harm his own life.

After learning about the situation, CM Shinde reportedly contacted Vanga's wife, assuring that her husband would be considered for a role as a member of the Maharashtra legislative council.

Videos of Vanga's emotional responses have since gone viral on social media and news channels.

Elections to the 288-member Maharashtra assembly will be held on November 20 and votes will be counted on November 23.

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Saharsa (PTI): More than 150 children were taken ill after allegedly consuming food that was part of the mid-day meal in a school in Bihar’s Saharsa district, a senior official said on Thursday.

The incident occurred at a middle school in Baluaha village of the district.

The official said that 115 children were undergoing treatment at the Sadar Hospital, while around 50 students were admitted to Mahishi Public Health Centre.

“We received information that several children fell ill after consuming the mid-day meal in Baluaha. The children were initially treated at the primary health centre, but later, many were referred to the Sadar Hospital,” Saharsa District Magistrate Deepesh Kumar told reporters.

“According to doctors, the health condition of the children has improved, but they will be kept under observation for some time. There is no need to panic. Some kids are having mild fever. They are being treated accordingly,” Kumar said.

Meanwhile, family members of some children claimed that a snake was found in the container in which cooked pulses was stored at the school.

Of the 545 students present in the school, 200 had already eaten their meals by the time the snake was spotted, and later complained of stomach ache and vomiting, they said.

Regarding the claims, the DM said food samples have been collected from the school.

“We will be able to comment on this only after the results of the tested samples arrive,” he said.