In the 2022 Marathi film Dharmaveer, widely seen as a cinematic effort to shape Eknath Shinde’s public perception ahead of his rebellion from the Shiv Sena and eventual rise to Maharashtra Chief Minister, a key scene unfolds on the day of Guru Purnima, a traditional Hindu festival dedicated to honouring one’s mentor.
In the film, Shinde and his mentor Anand Dighe are shown tracking down Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray at a private retreat. What follows is an emotional moment with Dighe washing Thackeray’s feet, applying sandalwood paste, and offering flowers as a gesture of reverence to the Sena founder. Moments later, Shinde’s character performs the same act for Dighe, visually positioning himself not just as a devoted follower but as Dighe’s rightful heir in the Shiv Sena legacy.
Fast forward to 2025. Deputy CM Shinde marked the eve of Guru Purnima on Wednesday with a visit to New Delhi, reportedly to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah, now viewed as his political patron.
The visit comes at a time when Shinde finds himself on increasingly shaky ground. The potential reunion between Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) and Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) is threatening to revive the original Thackeray brand; the friction between the Sena and the state BJP leadership over power sharing is becoming more pronounced; and internal dissent, including MLA indiscipline, is beginning to spill out into the open.
Against this backdrop, Shinde’s meeting with Shah is widely seen as a strategic move to reassert his authority and reinforce his standing within Maharashtra’s ruling Mahayuti coalition, amid concerns he is being marginalised in the state’s shifting political landscape.
After his dramatic split with Uddhav Thackeray in June 2022, Shinde experienced an unexpected political ascent, becoming the CM with BJP support in a move that surprised many, especially since Devendra Fadnavis, the BJP’s top state leader, was widely expected to return to the post. Fadnavis settled for Deputy CM, reportedly after the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah.
Initially perceived as a pliable figurehead, Shinde gradually shed that image. The once-low-profile leader grew in stature, leveraging his position to carve out an independent political persona, which didn’t sit well with the BJP’s state leadership. Yet the alliance persisted, as the BJP continued to use Shinde to fracture the Shiv Sena and diminish Uddhav Thackeray’s influence.
However, the BJP’s commanding performance in the 2024 Assembly elections altered the power equation. With Fadnavis reinstated as the CM, Shinde’s leverage within the alliance has diminished significantly. Shinde now finds himself increasingly marginalised, from being denied key portfolios in the Cabinet to facing mounting discontent within his party.
His own MLAs have been complaining, particularly over a lack of funds from the Finance ministry, which is controlled by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar of the NCP. These sentiments have only been compounded by the growing closeness between Uddhav and Raj Thackeray.
The prospect of Marathi political consolidation, through a Uddhav-Raj partnership, poses a direct threat to Shinde’s long-standing claim of being the “true inheritor of Bal Thackeray’s legacy”. With both son and nephew of the Shiv Sena founder signalling unity, Shinde faces the risk of being increasingly viewed as an outsider or usurper, particularly by the Marathi-speaking electorate.
The pressures faced by Shinde became evident recently when, in a seemingly flustered moment, he unexpectedly shouted “Jai Gujarat” in front of Shah during an event in Pune – just a day before the joint rally of the two Thackeray cousins, which projected a message of Marathi unity and pride.
Adding to Shinde’s woes are controversies involving his MLAs and ministers, raising questions about his control over the party.
The most high-profile of these incidents involved Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad slapping a canteen employee at the MLAs’ hostel in Mumbai, complaining of stale food. Though Sena colleague and Minister of State for Home Yogesh Kadam initially said the police cannot take any action against Gaikwad without a complaint against him, Fadnavis on Friday said there was no need for the police to initiate a probe. Later on Friday, Mumbai police registered a non-cognisable complaint against Gaikwad.
Meanwhile, state Social Justice Minister Sanjay Shirsat, a close Shinde associate, is facing multiple allegations that his son was illegally allotted a 21,275-sq-m plot in the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation’s (MIDC). The Shirsat family is also under fire for allegedly manipulating the auction of a prominent hotel in Aurangabad.
On Thursday, Shirsat received a notice from the Income Tax Department over a sharp rise in his declared assets between 2019 and 2024. Shirsat admitted to receiving the notice and also made a remark suggesting Shinde’s son and Lok Sabha MP Shrikant Shinde had received a similar notice, though he quickly retracted the claim.
Most recently, on Friday, Shirsat landed in new controversy after a video, in which he is seen with a bag full purportedly of cash in his home, went viral. Shirsat, however, claimed the bag contained only clothes. “The video is from the bedroom of my house and I am sitting on a bed while unpacking the bag after coming from a tour. Have I lost my mind to keep cash in a bag?” Shirsat said.
Against this backdrop, Shinde’s unscheduled visit to Delhi, many believe, was a defensive move to lobby his case with the BJP top brass, and insulate himself from the ramifications of a possible Thackeray alliance and the latent hostility of the state BJP leadership.
The Shiv Sena has downplayed the visit. “We don’t know exactly who Eknath Shinde met in Delhi, but there’s nothing wrong with meeting leaders there if it’s for the development of Mumbai and Maharashtra,” said Industries Minister and Sena leader Uday Samant.
But the Opposition has taken swipes at Shinde over his Delhi visit.
NCP (Sharad Pawar) MLA Rohit Pawar suggested Shinde’s Delhi visit was linked to “internal sabotage” within the Mahayuti. “Some leaders from Eknath Shinde’s party have received Income-Tax notices. Shinde may suspect an internal conspiracy,” Pawar said.
“Ajit Pawar’s people don’t receive notices, but Shinde’s people do. That’s worth analysing. It now appears the BJP is trying to cut Shinde’s influence ahead of the Mumbai civic elections,” he added.