Still hopeful that rebel MLAs will return, Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena always in talks with them: Sanjay Raut

Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut on Tuesday said that his party is “still hopeful” that the rebel Sena MLAs, who joined the Eknath Shinde group, will return to the Uddhav Thackeray’s faction. Invoking a Hindi idiom, Raut said that it is never too late for a person to realise his mistake. He also said that his party is “always in talks with rebels”. “We are still hopeful that these MLAs will return back… We were always in talks with rebels… They are our people, will come back. ‘Subha ka bhoola agar shaam ko ghar aa jaye to usse bhoola nahi kehte’,” Sanjay Raut said. The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena has total of 55 MLAs in the Maharashtra Assembly, of whom 40, including Eknath Shinde, have rebelled against him last month. Raut also claimed that Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena is confident of winning 100 seats if mid-term elections take place in Maharashtra. “We are confident of winning 100 seats as Shivsena… Uddhav Thackeray had said let’s have mid-term polls and everything will be clear.. who will win and who will lose,” he said. Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and BJP’s alliance government won the trust vote, bagging 164 votes in its favour in the 288-member Assembly, Raut said Talking to media today, Raut said that no one can hijack Shiv Sena through money. “Shiv Sena is Baba Thackeray’s. Cannot be anyone else’s. You cannot hijack it through money. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has said, not just money but something else was also given. It will be a big expose when this ‘something’ is revealed.” the Shiv Sena MP said. Raut on Monday questioned the legitimacy of the Eknath Shinde faction and said the group cannot claim to be the original Shiv Sena. “We will definitely contest it in court. The Shinde faction left the Shiv Sena, then how can they claim that their group is the original party, and not the one led by Uddhav Thackeray. The Thackeray name is synonymous with the Shiv Sena,” he had said. The Eknath Shinde and the Uddhav Thackeray Shiv Sena factions are already fighting a legal battle in the Supreme Court. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.