Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA and Uddhav Thackeray’s close aide Ravindra Waikar, who is being probed by the Enforcement Directorate in an alleged land case, on Sunday joined the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
The move comes as a major jolt to the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction as Waikar, the MLA from Mumbai’s Jogeshwari area, was a close aide and had closely worked with late Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray.
Waikar joined the Shinde-led group at ‘Varsha’, the official residence of the Chief Minister in Mumbai’s Malabar Hill area.
Speaking to reporters about his switch, Waikar said he had been associated with Shiv Sena for over 50 years and has joined the Shinde Sena for the development of his constituency.
“Eknath Shinde is taking quick decisions on development work. If these works are not completed, I cannot face my people,” he said.
Meanwhile, Eknath Shinde welcomed Waikar into his party, citing years of collaborative work under the leadership of Balasaheb Thackeray.
“Waikar joined the Shiv Sena which is inspired by the ideals of the late Bal Thackeray,” Eknath Shinde said.
Waikar, a four-time corporator, and former standing committee chairman of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, has represented Jogeshwari as an MLA for four consecutive terms.
Notably, Waikar is currently being probed by the Enforcement Directorate for allegedly misleading the BMC and obtaining permission fraudulently between January and July 2021 to construct a luxury hotel on a plot along Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road.
The plot, according to the FIR, was allotted for public utilisation, but Waikar and others used it for commercial purposes, resulting in earnings of several crores of rupees.
In January this year, the Enforcement Directorate raided the properties of Waikar, his partners, and other related individuals.