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The attack on the convoy of Shiv Sena-UBT leader Uddhav Thackeray in retaliation to a similar incident involving Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray revived the old rivalry between the estranged cousins who claim to champion the cause of Marathi manoos ahead of assembly elections.
On Sunday, Shiv Sena-UBT and Raj Thackeray escalated the rhetoric to project themselves as the true inheritors of old Shiv Sena's street fight culture.
A group of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena workers targeted Uddhav Thackeray's convoy on Saturday evening in Thane with cow dung and tomatoes, a day after some individuals threw betel nuts at the motorcade of Raj Thackeray in Beed.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, locked in a turf cum legal war with Uddhav Thackeray, said the Thane incident was a “reaction to action”.
On the attack on Raj Thackeray's convoy, Shiv Sena-UBT MP Sanjay Raut distanced his party from the actions, attributing them to individuals advocating for the Maratha quota.
He alleged that "Abdali" enjoys that Marathi people are fighting with each other.
Certain individuals had been "contracted" by Abdali to instigate divisions, Raut said without naming anyone specifically.
Raut was apparently targeting the Bharatiya Janata Party which had ensured Raj Thackeray's support during Lok Sabha elections and reportedly courting him for Marathi votes in upcoming elections.
Maha Vikas Aghadi member and NCP-SP leader Supriya Sule also condemned the attack on Uddhav Thackeray's convoy, calling it "unfortunate" and expressing concern for the Shiv Sena-UBT leader's safety.
Raj Thackeray attributed the attack on Uddhav Thackeray's convoy by MNS workers to frustration stemming from the absence of condemnation following a similar incident involving himself.
He appealed to MNS workers to back down for now but warned of addressing the behaviour of some people who have refused to change their ways, after assembly elections.
Responding to a question about the Thane incident, CM Shinde said on Saturday night, “Who started it? Sena (UBT) activists targeted Raj Thackeray's convoy in Aurangabad. This was just a reaction to the action.”
Those who abandoned the thoughts of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray and Anand Dighe, Shinde's mentor and popular Sena leader from Thane, will have to face such situations, he said.
Keeping up the aggression, the MNS chief said, "I appeal to people to not mess with me or my party workers. Some people may be established (in politics), but I have the support of displaced ones".
The Shiv Sena-UBT also seemed willing to notch up the confrontation with Raut saying the assailants (who targeted Uddhav Thackeray's convoy) should consider their families amid the ongoing political strife.
"I will request everyone to wait for two months. The ensuing period will reveal the response to this course of action," he said.
Meanwhile, police have registered two FIRs against 54 MNS workers, including women, in connection with the protest in Thane on Saturday, an official said.
Ten persons, including MNS' Thane and Palghar chief Avinash Jadhav, have been named in one FIR, while 44 activists from the party have been shown as accused in the second FIR for allegedly blocking traffic during their protest.
The FIRs have been registered under the Bharatiya Nayaya Sanhita (BNS) and Motor Vehicles Act, the official added.
The ruling Mahayuti alliance of the Shiv Sena, the BJP, and the NCP led by Ajit Pawar, and the opposition MVA comprising the Congress, the NCP-SP, and the Shiv Sena-UBT will battle out in elections, due in October, on the tricky political landscape of Maharashtra altered by fresh political realignments over the last two years.