‘Amit Shah Bigger Than Balasaheb Thackeray For You?’ Sanjay Raut Takes A Dig At Eknath Shinde Over Pune Hoarding

Published 2 August 2026 · local

‘Amit Shah Bigger Than Balasaheb Thackeray For You?’ Sanjay Raut Takes A Dig At Eknath Shinde Over Pune Hoarding Published By, Last Updated: August 02

‘Amit Shah Bigger Than Balasaheb Thackeray For You?’ Sanjay Raut Takes A Dig At Eknath Shinde Over Pune Hoarding Published By, Last Updated: August 02, 2026, 13:20 IST “Can you see the photo of Hindu Hruday Samrat Shiv Sena chief Balasaheb Thackeray anywhere? Never mind, Shri Anand Dighe has also vanished!” said Sanjay Raut on X Rapid Read The hoarding in Pune. (X) Sanjay Raut, spokesperson of Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT), on Sunday took a swipe at Maharashtra deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde over a hoarding to welcome Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Pune. Shah arrived in Pune on Saturday on a high-profile, two-day visit to Maharashtra. He was welcomed at the Pune airport by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis alongside other senior leaders and administrative officials. “Can you see the photo of Hindu Hruday Samrat Shiv Sena chief Balasaheb Thackeray anywhere? Never mind, Shri Anand Dighe has also vanished!" said Raut on X.

He further wrote: “Andhbhakts (blind devotees) are saying that there’s a photo of Balasaheb and Anand Dighe on the hoarding! Yes. It is there in the corner, in a humiliating position. In a place where no one should notice, when did Amit Shah become bigger than Shiv Sena chief Balasaheb Thackeray?" AMIT SHAH’S VISIT Shah on Saturday presented the Lokmanya Tilak Award to Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval in Pune. Separately, Shah paid tributes to legendary Marathi poet and social reformer Lokshahir Annabhau Sathe on his birth anniversary during his visit to Pune. The Congress party announced a “black flag" protest at Utsav Hotel Chowk against central policies. Ahead of the visit, the Deccan Police pre-emptively detained several Youth Congress workers to prevent clashes, while local BJP leaders warned of a strong counter-response. Controversial political banners were also spotted around Pashan Road criticising the government. HOW EKNATH SHINDE CLAIMED BAL THACKERAY’S LEGACY Eknath Shinde claimed the legacy and control of the Shiv Sena from Uddhav Thackeray through a series of calculated political, judicial, and symbolic moves The Rebellion (June 2022): Shinde led a revolt with 39 Shiv Sena MLAs, arguing that Uddhav Thackeray had compromised Bal Thackeray’s core Hindutva ideology by forming an alliance with ideological rivals Congress and the NCP.

Alliance with BJP: Shinde aligned his faction with the BJP to form a new government, framing the coalition as the “true" ideological successor to the original BJP-Shiv Sena alliance envisioned by Bal Thackeray. The Legislative Majority: By securing the support of the vast majority of Shiv Sena’s elected MLAs and MPs, Shinde demonstrated stronger political backing than Uddhav’s faction. ECI Ruling (February 2023): The Election Commission of India (ECI) officially recognized Shinde’s faction as the real Shiv Sena, granting them the official “Bow and Arrow" symbol and the party name based on their legislative majority. Speaker’s Verdict (January 2024): The Maharashtra Assembly Speaker officially ruled that Shinde’s faction was the real political party during the 2022 split, solidifying his legal claim. With agency inputs News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit About the Author Manjiri Joshi At the news desk for 20 years, the story of her life has revolved around finding pun, facts while reporting, on radio, heading a daily newspaper desk, teaching mass media students to now editing speci...