Shiv Sena (UBT) Member of Parliament Sanjay Raut on Monday, 22 June launched a sharp attack on Lok Sabha MP Omraje Nimbalkar, branding him a “notorious traitor” after Nimbalkar defected to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction. Raut also alleged that Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was being deployed by the central Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership to systematically undercut Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Raut's Broadside Against Nimbalkar

Speaking at a press conference in Mumbai, Raut dismissed Nimbalkar's public appeal to his supporters not to criticise the Thackeray family or Matoshree as outright hypocrisy. “Do traitors ever have a stand? Those who abandoned Uddhav Thackeray are nothing but notorious betrayers. If Om Nimbalkar believes his father’s soul will bless him for this move, that is his lookout. He is now sitting thigh-to-thigh with the very individuals he spent years accusing. This is the absolute peak of shamelessness and greed,” Raut said.

Nimbalkar’s switch came despite reported behind-the-scenes efforts by Thackeray loyalists to retain him. Raut argued that defectors are driven purely by self-interest and carry no ideological conviction.

Allegation of a ₹15 Crore Financial Transaction

Raut went further, alleging a financial dimension to the defection. He claimed that Uddhav Thackeray has received precise information about who accepted money on Nimbalkar’s behalf and that an initial advance of ₹15 crore was delivered through a specific channel. NationPress could not independently verify this claim; Raut made it at the press conference without presenting documentary evidence.

He reiterated that fracturing the Shiv Sena amounted to fracturing Maharashtra’s pride, describing Shinde as a “contract killer” allegedly operating at the direction of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Nashik Council Result as Proof of Mahayuti Cracks

Raut pointed to the Nashik Legislative Council election outcome as evidence of deep fissures within the ruling Mahayuti coalition. BJP rebel Gokul Gite inflicted a defeat on the Shinde faction’s official candidate, Narendra Darade, despite reported pressure from both Chief Minister Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde on Gite to withdraw.

Raut disclosed that Gite had sought cooperation from the Thackeray camp and that, after consultations with Uddhav Thackeray, the Shiv Sena (UBT) extended support. “The BJP voters themselves ensured Shinde’s candidate was defeated. This is a clear sign of internal outrage,” he claimed.

The Delhi-Shinde-Fadnavis Triangle

Raut alleged a larger political conspiracy by the central BJP leadership in New Delhi, arguing that backing Shinde is a deliberate strategy to erode Fadnavis’s authority. “The bolstering of Shinde from Delhi is detrimental to Maharashtra. Shinde is being used to diminish the stature of Devendra Fadnavis. Concurrently, our Shiv Sena is being targeted to weaken Maharashtra’s collective bargaining power, ultimately to hand over Mumbai’s assets to a handful of favoured industrialists,” he alleged.

These are Raut’s allegations and have not been confirmed by the BJP, Shinde’s faction, or any official source.

Raut’s Warning on Maharashtra’s Future

When pressed on whether the Shiv Sena (UBT) would take sides in the escalating coalition friction, Raut offered a pointed metaphor: “It’s not about choosing a side. We are looking at a choice between a ghost and a demon. But if this demon created by Amit Shah sits heavily on the neck of Devendra Fadnavis and threatens the state, we will step in and take an appropriate stand for Maharashtra.”

The remarks signal that the Thackeray camp intends to leverage intra-Mahayuti tensions as political capital ahead of future electoral contests in the state.