Thackeray, Shinde factions of Shiv Sena face off at party office in BMC

The rival Shiv Sena factions led by Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde faced off at the party's office in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters in south Mumbai on Wednesday evening.

Tensions prevailed for an hour on the premises till police intervened. The confrontation took place after North Central Mumbai MP Rahul Shewale, former standing committee chairman Yashwant Jadhav and former corporator Sheetal Mhatre, all belonging to the Shinde-led Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena, entered the party office around 5 pm. Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) faction's former corporators including Ashish Chemburkar and Sachin Padwal objected to their presence, leading to heated exchanges, sources said. Tension prevailed for nearly an hour with workers from both sides shouting slogans before the police stepped in and removed everyone from the office. Both factions claimed that there was no attempt by any side to stake claim to the party office, ...