Dr Vishwajeet Kadam said he had invited Thackeray, but the attendance was not confirmed because of the Sena (UBT) president’s prior engagements. Other Congress leaders denied any bad blood. In Sangli, Thackeray had announced the candidature of Chandrahar Patil much before the seat-sharing was finalised. Congress had demanded the seat, but Thackeray didn’t relent. As a result, Congress leader Vishal Patil, a grandson of former CM late Vasantdada Patil, rebelled and contested as an independent.

Local Congress leaders, including Dr Vishwajeet Kadam, had urged for the change amidst a war of words between his party and Thackeray’s associates. Kadam and local leaders of the MVA, except Sena (UBT), worked hard to get Patil elected and the latter, as expected, became an associate MP of the Congress.

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How are rising Ganesh idol prices affecting the traditional celebrations for Ganesh Chaturthi in Mumbai?

Higher costs for devotees 40.78%

Impact on mandal activities 28.25%

Shift to alternative celebrations 30.97%

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Krishna Hegde, spokesperson, Shiv Sena (Shinde), claimed, “Thackeray has boycotted Rahul’s Sangli programme because he is upset about not being projected as the CM face or MVA’s leader by Congress and NCP-SP. Moreover, he had announced UBT’s Sangli candidate without consulting Congress. The Congress cadre gave him a crushing defeat by putting up their own candidate. Therefore, an upset Thackeray has boycotted the event. The cracks in the MVA are evident.”