Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 17 : Shiv Sena leader Shaina NC on Saturday launched a scathing attack on Sanjay Raut after the latter called Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde 'Jaichand', saying that it was the Shiv Sena (UBT) MP who betrayed his ideology when he "sat on the lap of Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)" in 2019.
Reacting to Raut's remarks, she said that Eknath Shinde does not require any "certificate" from Sanjay Raut and accused the UBT leader of "betraying his ideology".
"The person who has done so much work for Maharashtra, perhaps Sanjay Raut cannot digest this, but Eknath Shinde does not need Sanjay Raut's certificate. Sanjay Raut has forgotten that in 2019, he went and sat on the lap of the Congress and the NCP. He betrayed his ideology. Sanjay Raut now probably needs a new scriptwriter," Shaina told ANI.
The exchange comes after Sanjay Raut earlier today launched a scathing attack on Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde following the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election results, alleging that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would never have gained a foothold in the city's civic body had Shinde not "betrayed" the party, asserting that the Marathi people would remember Shinde as "Jaichand."
In a post on X, Raut invoked the historical reference of Jaichand, a Rajput ruler from the powerful Gahadavala dynasty, remembered in popular folklore for siding with Muhammad Ghori against Prithviraj Chauhan, to accuse Shinde of betrayal.
"If Eknath Shinde had not become the Jaichand of Shiv Sena, the BJP would never have got a Mayor in Mumbai! The Marathi people will remember Shinde as Jaichand," Raut wrote.
Elaborating, Raut accused the BJP of engineering splits within opposition parties to consolidate power across states. "BJP wins by creating 'Jaichands'. Otherwise, what is the BJP's strength? In every state, in every city, they break up every party and create 'Jaichand' to win elections," he said.
Raut further questioned the political standing of the Deputy Chief Minister, saying, "They are equal to zero. What is the Deputy Chief Minister's strength? As long as they are in power, people will salute them; otherwise, people will throw shoes at their cars."
Meanwhile, the BMC elections saw the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance emerge as the single largest bloc, while the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) alliance also secured a significant share of seats and votes across Mumbai.
According to official figures released by the Election Commission and the BMC, the BJP won 89 seats. Its alliance partner, the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction), secured 29 seats. Together, the BJP-Shiv Sena (Shinde) alliance emerged as the largest bloc in the BMC.
On the other hand, the Shiv Sena (UBT), contesting in alliance with the MNS, won 65 seats.
The Indian National Congress (INC) secured 24 seats. Among other parties, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) won eight seats, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) secured three seats, the Samajwadi Party won two seats, and the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) won one seat.