Mumbai: Maharashtra’s Shiv Sena factions hit a humorous low on Thursday as Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s camp publicly mocked the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) for celebrating the party’s 59th foundation day, despite the latter faction only being formed in 2022.
The Shinde camp used its social media platform to post a cartoon directly questioning the Shiv Sena (UBT)’s legitimacy in commemorating the decades-old party.
The cartoon showed Uddhav Thackeray and his son, Aaditya Thackeray, scratching their heads over their faction’s true “birth date,” with a reference below the cartoon of a Wikipedia entry which stated that the Shiv Sena (UBT) was established on October 10, 2022.
The Shinde faction questioned how a group that was formed on October 10, 2022, could celebrate the Shiv Sena’s 59th foundation day.
The post quickly gained traction online with over a lakh hits so far.
Both the factions of the Shiv Sena have been on warpath since June 2022, when Eknath Shinde’s rebellion split the party and his group was recognised as the “real” Shiv Sena.
Today’s social media attack comes on a day when both factions are holding their respective foundation day celebrations.
Netizens posted Graphic Interchange Format (GIF), animated cartoons, besides comments in support of both the factions on the post.
The Shinde-led Shiv Sena is marking the occasion with a rally at the NSCI Dome in Worli, while the Shiv Sena (UBT) is hosting its event at the Shanmukhananda Hall.
