We will win 2024 polls before SC case ends: Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde's group chief whip Bharat Gogawale

MUMBAI: Rebel Shiv Sena MLA Bharat Gogawale, who is chief whip of CM Eknath Shinde's faction, said on Monday that the outcome of the power struggle between the two Sena factions in the Supreme Court is likely to take 4-5 years and "meanwhile, we will win the 2024 elections and come back to power".
However, school education minister and Shinde camp spokesperson Deepak Kesarkar said Gogawale's statement was not the view of the Shinde faction and "it is not our intention to kill time in SC". He said the CM had in fact asked MLAs not to make any comments on the case. Chaitanya Marpakwar reports.
No intention of killing time in SC: Kesarkar
State BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule distanced his party from rebel Sena MLA Bharat Gogawale's statement that the outcome of the Supreme Court case is likely to take 4-5 years. Bawankule told reporters in Nagpur that he did not have details of Gogawale's exact statement. "I can only say the decision of the Supreme Court will be acceptable to us," he said.
Speaking at a public meeting in Ratnagiri, Gogawale, who is chief whip of CM Shinde's faction, said, "We are Shiv Sainiks. The bow and arrow is ours, we will show you on the 7th (the date of next hearing). These people were hoping against hope. They are waiting for the disqualification and collapse of the (Shinde-Fadnavis) government. But I say today, the petition that went to the constitutional bench, it will not get a result for four to five years. Meanwhile, we will win the 2024 elections and come back to power."
The Shinde faction claimed Gogawale's statement wasn't the team's view. School education minister Deepak Kesarkar, who is spokesperson of the Shinde camp, said, "It had been decided that no MLA or office-bearer of our party will comment on the matter while it is pending in the Supreme Court or any court. Even when the chief minister has given such instructions, he (Gogawale) has made a statement by mistake. This is not our stand; it is not our intention to kill time in the SC. The work of the court is done according to their rules, and this is their prerogative. We will make sure that no such statement is made again."