Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Parbhani MP Sanjay Jadhav on Friday posted a message on social media, sparking speculation about possible dissent among the party’s MPs, a day after he skipped a Shiv Sena (UBT) parliamentary meeting convened in Delhi.
On Friday, which marked the 60th Foundation Day of the undivided Shiv Sena, Jadhav shared a photograph of party founder Balasaheb Thackeray along with the message, “Akhand Shiv Sena, Atal Hindutva… 60 years of commitment to Hindutva.” What caught people’s attention was that the post did not feature Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray or the party’s ‘Mashal’ election symbol.
This omission led political observers and party workers to interpret the post as a signal that Jadhav may be emphasising the Hindutva ideology associated with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
Jadhav, a three-term MP from Parbhani, has long been seen as one of Uddhav’s most steadfast supporters in Marathwada. Rising from a corporator to a prominent leader, he stood firmly with him during the 2022 split in the party, as several leaders defected to Shinde’s camp, and frequently underscored his loyalty to the leadership.
The recent development has, however, revived speculation about a possible shift in his stance, while also drawing renewed attention to Parbhani’s distinct electoral history. Considered a Shiv Sena bastion for more than three decades, the constituency has a pattern where several MPs elected on the party’s ticket have later parted ways with it.
Former MPs Ashok Deshmukh, Suresh Jadhav, Tukaram Renge and Ganesh Dudhgaonkar are among those who distanced themselves from undivided Sena after winning from Parbhani. Political commentators often describe this recurring phenomenon as the constituency’s “curse.”
Jadhav had till now been viewed as the exception to that pattern. After first serving as corporator in 2001, he twice got elected MLA in 2004 and 2009. He won the Parbhani Lok Sabha seat in 2014, retained it in 2019 and secured a third consecutive term thereafter.
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