Political analyst and Congress supporter Tehseen Poonawalla said one of the big causes that led to the fall of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in the state was the statements made by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut. He requested Uddhav Thackeray, the leader of Shiv Sena (UBT), to rein in Sanjay Raut because his remarks were hurting the Opposition INDIA alliance in Maharashtra.
Sanjay Raut is a Rajya Sabha member of Shiv Sena (UBT) and the executive editor of ‘Saamna’, the mouthpiece of the Uddhav Thackeray faction. Raut is known for his controversial statements, but he hasn’t been called out by a person associated with an alliance partner.
In a post on X, Tehseen Poonawalla said, “Exactly one month ago, when Milind Deora bhai left, your boy spoke about the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress and 3 former Chief Ministers including shri #AshokChavan ji. Let me say one thing: one of the big causes of the MVA govt collapsing & now the INDIA alliance in Maharashtra being affected is shri Sanjay Raut ji occupying the face of the Maharashtra alliance.”
A day after quitting the Congress, Chavan joined the BJP on Tuesday, with Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis welcoming him as a stalwart with a notable political career.
Tehseen Poonawalla also shared a video in which he said that he wanted to tell the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray that the statements made by Raut have “continuously caused damage to the MVA government”.
“Many people believe that one of the causes of the fall of the MVA government was the statements made by Sanjay Raut. His recent statements on the INDIA bloc’s seat-sharing talks Maharashtra, in my opinion, was an insult to the Maharashtra Congress,” Tehseen Poonawalla said.
On Monday, veteran Congress leader Ashok Chavan, son of former Chief Minister SB Chavan, severed his decades-old ties with the party by resigning as its primary member. He refrained from attributing specific reasons for his exit.
On Tuesday, Sanjay Raut attributed Ashok Chavan’s exit from the Congress to “pressure from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Income Tax (I-T) Department zeroing in on him”.
Sanjay Raut courted trouble earlier due to his controversial remarks.
In March 2023, Raut referred to the state legislature as “chor mandal” (collective of thieves). Sanjay Raut’s statement drew massive criticism, upsetting lawmakers across party lines.
BJP MLA Atul Bhatkhalkar moved a privilege motion against Raut, which led to a privilege committee investigating the issue.
Sanjay Raut found himself in trouble thrice for his writings and editorial positions taken by ‘Saamna’.
Though Raut faced blowback from opposition parties several times over his remarks, Tehseen Poonawala’s statement asking Uddhav Thackeray to rein him in is a rare one coming from a member associated with one of the allies of Shiv Sena (UBT).