Shiv Sena (UBT) struggles amid defections in Konkan, Marathwada
Mumbai: The Shiv Sena (UBT) is grappling with a series of defections in its strongholds of Konkan and Marathwada, prompting party chief Uddhav Thackeray to hold a key meeting at Matoshree. The party is formulating strategies to counter the growing influence of the Eknath Shinde-led faction and the BJP.
On Saturday, Thackeray convened a meeting of senior leaders at Matoshree, where former MP Vinayak Raut was tasked with identifying new leadership for Rajapur. The move comes after former MLA Rajan Salvi and several other local leaders joined the Shinde faction. Salvi blamed Raut for his electoral defeat, citing a lack of support.
During the meeting, Raut reassured the leadership that despite defections, the party retains significant support in Rajapur and the Konkan region. He highlighted the continued influence of Balasaheb Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray, announcing a series of public rallies in Sangameshwar, Chiplun, Lanja, and other parts of Ratnagiri to regain lost ground.
Notably, Bhaskar Jadhav, the party’s only remaining MLA from Konkan, did not attend the meeting. His WhatsApp status—a video showing goats blindly following their shepherd into a river, accompanied by a Marathi film song—sparked speculation about his dissatisfaction with the party leadership.
Jadhav has previously voiced disappointment over being overlooked for key positions, particularly as the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly. While he later clarified that his remarks were not directed at any specific leader, he expressed concerns over the party’s handling of internal discontent.
In Marathwada, the situation is worsening for Sena (UBT), with several leaders switching sides. Suresh Bankar, who had contested the assembly elections from Sillod in Jalna under the party’s banner, has rejoined the BJP, citing constituency interests. Another candidate from Aurangabad West, who had lost to Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Shirsat, is also expected to return to the BJP. In Hingoli, Rupali Patil, who lost to BJP’s Tanaji Mutkule, is reportedly considering a switch.
A party leader from Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar admitted that many leaders, including Rupali Patil, had been dissatisfied for months and were likely to join the ruling alliance. In the recent assembly elections, Sena (UBT) managed to win only three out of 46 seats in Marathwada, despite the region being a traditional stronghold.
With defections mounting, the party faces an uphill battle to retain its remaining leadership and rebuild its grassroots presence against an increasingly dominant Shinde Sena and BJP.
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UP man gets life term for electrocuting mentally challenged wife to death in Bareilly
Bareilly (UP) (PTI): A local court here has sentenced a man to life imprisonment for murdering his mentally challenged wife by repeatedly electrocuting her while she was tied to a cot, lawyers said on Thursday.
Additional district government counsel Harendra Singh Rathore said Additional Sessions Judge Avinash Kumar Singh on Wednesday convicted Vinod Kumar (45) for killing his wife, Satyavati, in Chaina village of Bareilly district and imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 on him.
According to the prosecution, he was allegedly frustrated with his wife Satyavati's mental illness and often assaulted her.
Rathore said the prosecution examined nine witnesses to establish the charges against him.
As per court records, on the night of May 1-2, 2022, when Satyavati was asleep, Vinod tied her hands and legs to a cot using ropes and then connected an aluminium cable to an electric board to repeatedly administer electric shocks to her.
"She writhed in pain, but the accused continued to electrocute her until she died," the prosecution said.
The court observed that the murder was carried out in an inhuman manner.
After committing the crime, the accused threw the rope and cable on the roof and left for work at a brick kiln around 2 am to create a false alibi.
He later tried to mislead the police and the victim's family by claiming that Satyavati, whose mental condition was unstable, had accidentally died by suicide after grabbing a live electric wire.
However, the victim's brother, Sanjeev, a resident of Shahjahanpur district, suspected foul play and lodged an FIR under sections 498A (husband subjecting wife to cruelty) and 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code at Nawabganj police station.
During the trial, the prosecution relied on the post-mortem report prepared by Dr Faraz Anwar, who stated that multiple electrocution marks found on different parts of the victim's body could not have been self-inflicted.
The police also recovered the rope and electric wire used in the crime on the accused's identification, officials said.
