Sanjay Raut tweeted this illustration of Uddhav Thackeray being backstabbed
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut has tweeted an illustration indicating how the Shiv Sena's own leaders backstabbed Uddhav Thackeray, who resigned as Maharashtra Chief Minister yesterday.
Mr Thackeray had right from the start of the rebellion by nearly 40 Sena MLAs last week had made it clear he had no wish to cling on to power, if leaders of his own party did not want him.
Mr Thackeray in a virtual address last Friday thanked Sena cadre and party workers for their unwavering support despite having "betrayed by own people", referring to the rebel MLAs.
In the tweet today, Mr Raut shared an illustration of a man in a white kurta, representing Mr Thackeray. But the kurta is torn at the back, with three long claw marks, and blood is dripping, a clear allusion to how the rebel MLAs led by Eknath Shinde backstabbed the former Chief Minister and pulled a fast one on him with direct support of the BJP.
"This is exactly what happened," Mr Raut said in the illustration tweet.
Soon after the rebel MLAs left for Gujarat's Surat and then surfaced at a five-star holed in BJP-ruled Assam last week, Mr Thackeray had moved back to "Matoshree" - his family home - from his official residence "Varsha" after delivering a Facebook live address.
"If my own people don't want me as Chief Minister, he should walk up to me and say so... I'm ready to resign... I am Balasaheb's son, I am not after a post... If you want me to resign, let me resign and take all my belongings to Matoshree," he had said, in a foretelling of what was to come, which eventually happened last night.
Mr Shinde and the rebel MLAs will meet the Governor today, sources have said.
The BJP won't yet claim to form government; however, BJP leader Girish Mahajan has said they have the support of over 170 MLAs and will form government in the next three days.