Aaditya Thackeray Faces Heat from Shiv Sena for Avoiding DPDC Meeting on Mumbai’s Future

Mumbai, 31st January 2025: On Thursday, the ruling Shiv Sena criticized Aaditya Thackeray, leader of the rival faction, for not attending a crucial meeting of the District Planning and Development Council (DPDC) for the Mumbai City district, which was chaired by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Shinde, who also serves as the guardian minister of Mumbai City and leads the Shiv Sena, presided over the DPDC meeting, where a Rs 690-crore development plan for the 2024-25 period was approved for the city. The meeting was attended by MLAs, MLCs, and MPs from the Mumbai City district.
However, Aaditya Thackeray, who represents the Worli constituency in Mumbai, chose to skip the meeting, prompting criticism from the Shinde-led faction of the Shiv Sena. “He (Thackeray) doesn’t seem to care about his constituency. His absence at such an important meeting shows his indifference to both Mumbai and Worli. He lacked the courage to face Shinde, who is the guardian minister,” claimed Shiv Sena MLC Manisha Kayande.
Four Shiv Sena lawmakers attended the meeting, and despite Thackeray’s absence, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Sachin Ahir stated that the points Thackeray wanted raised were shared in advance. These concerns were voiced by the party’s representatives at the meeting. Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Sunil Shinde, who represents Worli, raised issues such as the redevelopment of old chawls, traffic congestion, and poor water quality in the city.
It was also noted that Thackeray had skipped a similar DPDC meeting when Deepak Kesarkar, another rebel from the undivided Shiv Sena, was the guardian minister for Mumbai City during the first Mahayuti government. Kesarkar had joined the 39 Shiv Sena MLAs who rebelled against Uddhav Thackeray’s leadership in June 2022, leading to the split in the party.
Since the revolt, relations between the two factions of the Shiv Sena have been tense and acrimonious. Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, in response to the meeting, mentioned that several key issues concerning Mumbai City were discussed and that he had instructed officials to provide written responses to the concerns raised by the lawmakers.