'Arrogance caused Ravana's downfall': Eknath Shinde's veiled dig at BJP?

MUMBAI: In an apparent dig at his ally BJP, over its attempts to poach the MLAs of Shiv Sena, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday said those coming after his party would face the same fate as that of Ravana. Calling for people to vote against Ravana's arrogance, Shinde said We have come together here against dictatorship and authoritarianism. Dy CM Shinde was in Dahanu to campaign for his party candidate Bharat Rajput for the Nagar Panchayat president post. Rajput is also the president of Palghar district. As both Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and the Congress have withdrawn their candidate from the polls, the battle is between Shiv Sena and the BJP. Our dear sisters have voted massively in state polls and we have seen the result as well. If our sisters vote in the same way, then no one will stop us from getting the major victory in these elections. This victory will push for major development in this region, Shinde said. He further said that they want to end the corruption at its root, therefore casting the vote to his party candidates is very important in these local body polls. Shinde also reminded that Shiv Sena contested only 80 seats and won 60 seats; therefore Sena has the capacity to do keep up with their promises and so people should vote his party's candidates in the local body polls. Shinde said that he is a person who works for each and every community person development and progress. Shiv Sena means development. We will develop gardens and playgrounds for children to play. The basic infrastructure will also be improved with all state-of-the-art facilities at the local level so they do not need to go anywhere for basic services, Shinde promised. Shinde's attempts to convey the internal friction within the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance to the saffron party's top leadership did not go well as he was reportedly informed that the party would go ahead with its expansion plans. Shinde had reportedly expressed concern regarding BJP state president Ravindra Chavan's attempts to allegedly poach Shiv Sena leaders on the eve of the local body polls, as well as for what he described as step-motherly treatment within the BJP-led Mahayuti government. Shinde gets no relief from Amit Shah as BJP pushes ahead with 'expansion' plan