PUNE: Shiv Sena Lok Sabha member Shrirang Barne, who has joined the rebel faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, on Friday said he along with other MPs had asked party president Uddhav Thackeray to revive ties with former ally BJP.
He claimed the BJP had played a major role in his victory in the previous two general elections.
The Lok Sabha member from Maval in Pune district said he and some other MPs had asked Thackeray to snap ties with the Congress and the NCP, and go back to the old ally BJP.
Barne was part of the 12-member separate group of MPs formed by the rebel faction of the Shiv Sena.
The breakaway group is led by Mumbai South Central MP Rahul Shewale in the Lok Sabha.
Barne, a two-term Sena MP, was welcomed by a large number of supporters at the Pune airport after he returned from New Delhi.
Speaking to reporters, Barne said he along with some other MPs had asked Thackeray to once again ally with the BJP.
"However, Uddhavji Thackeray was not in favour of snapping ties with the NCP and the Congress. So considering the future, the Shiv Sena will be with the BJP going forward," he said.
The Sena, the Congress and the NCP were part of the Maha Vikas Agahdi (MVA) government that collapsed in end-June following a revolt by Shinde and MLAs supporting him.
Barne said he has been representing Maval in the Lok Sabha for the last eight years and the BJP had a major share in his victory in 2014 and 2019 general elections.
"The BJP had 60 per cent to 70 per cent share in my victory from the Maval constituency. I never criticised the policies of the (BJP-led central) government," he said.
Barne said Shewale told Thackeray on behalf of Sena MPs that when general elections took place in 2014 and 2019, on both occasions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the face of the BJP-led NDA's campaign.
"We told Uddhavji that in 2024 (polls) also, PM Modi will be the face," he said.
Besides Barne, senior Shiv Sena leaders from Pune district like Vijay Shivtare and Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil have also joined the Shinde faction.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday named rebel Sena MP Shewale as the leader of the party in the Lower House of Parliament.