Uddhav Thackeray and Amit Shah (File photo)

NEW DELHI: Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday asserted that the only Shiv Sena is the one led by him, responding sharply to Union home minister Amit Shah‘s “only one Shiv Sena” remark.Addressing a rally in Mumbai, Thackeray said, “The Shiv Sena headed by me is the only Shiv Sena.”His remarks came a day after Shah, speaking at a rally in Kolhapur, declared there was no Shiv Sena faction other than the one led by Maharashtra deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde.The Shiv Sena, founded by Uddhav’s father Bal Thackeray in 1966, split in June 2022 following a rebellion led by Shinde.In February 2023, the Election Commission recognised Shinde’s camp as the official Shiv Sena and allotted it the party’s name and symbol, while Uddhav’s group was designated Shiv Sena (UBT).Uddhav Thackeray also accused his former ally, the BJP, of attempting to “finish” his party and poach its leaders. Drawing a contrast with his current ally, the Congress, he argued that despite being political rivals for decades, the grand old party never sought to finish the Shiv Sena.“We spent 30 years fighting Congress, but it never tried to steal our leaders or finish the Shiv Sena the way the BJP did,” the Sena (UBT) chief remarked.In November 2019, after a fallout with the BJP over the chief minister’s post, Thackeray joined hands with the Congress and the NCP — ideological rivals of the undivided Shiv Sena — to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. He subsequently became Maharashtra’s chief minister.The MVA government collapsed after Thackeray resigned amid a rebellion led by Shinde, which left him without the numbers to retain power.Since then, the MVA constituents have repeatedly alleged that the BJP backed Shinde’s revolt to bring down their government, an accusation the saffron party has consistently rejected.(With PTI inputs)