Amit Shah-Shinde meet a figment of Sanjay Raut’s imagination, say DyCM’s supporters

Nagpur: Shiv Sena (Shinde) leaders in Vidarbha say the article in Shiv Sena UBT mouthpiece Saamna, about deputy CM Eknath Shinde's alleged secret meeting with Union home minister Amit Shah to complain about him being sidelined, is a ‘figment of imagination'. According to the Saamna article, on February 22 at Pune, Shah told Shinde to merge his party into BJP as they won't allow CMs from non-saffron party.
TOI spoke to two Shiv Sena (Shinde) legislators from Vidarbha, one of whom did not wish to be identified, as their leader is yet to comment on the allegations made in the article authored by Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut. One of the MLAs from eastern Vidarbha said, "These are figments of Raut's imagination. Problem is that Shiv Sena UBT is extremely frustrated as they have to sit in the opposition forever, as there is no chance of them ever coming to power in Maharashtra. Now, they are also aware that a similar fate awaits them in Mumbai (civic polls), after which the party will be finished," said the legislator. "Hence to create distrust between Mahayuti members, Raut is resorting to such allegations. He feels that by starting fights between Mahayuti allies, they can somehow gain political advantage," he added.
Another Sena (Shinde) legislator, Sanjay Gaikwad of Buldhana, however, had a different interpretation of why Raut wrote such an article. He said, "Many UBT legislators and former corporators are in touch with Shinde saheb, and are willing to join us. The only way UBT can try to prevent this is by creating a picture of a cornered Shinde saheb, someone who has been sidelined. But no matter what tactics Raut uses, a mass exodus will happen from their party to ours. It's only a matter of time."