Shiv Sena (UBT) wins Eknath Shinde’s political bastion in Thane Civic Polls
Mumbai: In a result seen as one of the most symbolic outcomes of the Thane civic polls, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) has secured a victory in the ward where Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde resides, an area long considered his political stronghold.
Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Shahaji Khusphe defeated the Shinde-led Shiv Sena’s nominee and former mayor Ashok Vaiti by a margin of 667 votes. According to official figures, Khusphe polled 12,860 votes, while Vaiti secured 12,193 votes in Ward 13A.
The result has drawn considerable attention given Thane’s historical importance to the Shiv Sena. The city has traditionally been regarded as the party’s core base, shaped by the legacy of founder Bal Thackeray and the late Anand Dighe, and later closely associated with Shinde himself.
Following the split in the Shiv Sena in 2022, most of the party’s organisational structure in Thane, including a majority of shakhas and corporators, had moved to Shinde’s faction. This made Thane a prestige battleground for both the ruling Shinde-led Sena and the Sena (UBT).
Although the Sena (UBT) trails significantly in the overall contest for the Thane Municipal Corporation, the win in Shinde’s own locality has political significance. Ward 13 has four seats in total, of which the Shinde-led Shiv Sena won three. However, the Sena (UBT)’s victory in the most high-profile contest within the ward has raised eyebrows.
Observers note that the result suggests voter support has not entirely shifted along with organisational control. It also indicates that the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction continues to retain pockets of influence even in areas closely identified with Eknath Shinde.
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Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
