Mumbai: Uddhav Thackeray, the president of Shiv Sena (UBT), took a swipe at the BJP, expressing astonishment at the omission of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari from the party's initial list of 195 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Gadkari has represented the Nagpur Lok Sabha constituency since 2014.

Thackeray reminisced about his past collaboration with Gadkari, particularly highlighting Gadkari's role in ensuring the completion of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, a project initiated by Thackeray's father and Shiv Sena founder, Bal Thackeray.

Thackeray's remarks came amidst the BJP's delay in announcing candidates for the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra. In a thinly veiled dig at the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Thackeray remarked that the politics of dismantling opposition parties is unsustainable and suggested renaming "jumla" (fake promises) as "guarantee."

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut criticized the BJP's decision to include Kripashankar Singh as a candidate, citing allegations of financial misconduct against him. Raut questioned the Maharashtra government's claims of prosecuting corrupt leaders, particularly targeting Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and insinuated whether evidence against corrupt leaders had been overlooked.

In response to Thackeray and Raut's remarks, Kripashankar Singh defended himself, stating that he had been acquitted of all charges by the court. He also questioned the political credibility of individuals, indirectly referring to Thackeray, who lacks their own political party and has a questionable record of attendance at the Mantralaya during their tenure as Chief Minister.

Kripashankar Singh, who previously led the Mumbai unit of Congress and served as a Minister of State for Home, parted ways with Congress in 2019 due to disagreements regarding the party's stance on the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status by the NDA government. He subsequently joined the BJP in 2021.

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