Overview
- Dr. Santosh Tarfe, a former Kalamnuri MLA from Hingoli, formally joined the Shinde-led Shiv Sena in Thane on Wednesday, Nov. 4, in an event attended by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
- Several Hingoli district figures and hundreds of party workers switched to Shinde’s camp, including district chief Gopu Patil, former Zilla Parishad president Ganaji Bele, and former municipal president Nandkishor Toshniwal.
- Shinde told the new members the state government will back pending infrastructure and development projects and said Tarfe’s leadership could expand initiatives for the tribal community.
- Party leaders framed the move as a tactical organisational gain ahead of imminent local self-government elections and a local setback for the Uddhav Thackeray (Sena UBT) faction.
- The change follows a broader, ongoing split in Shiv Sena where targeted defections are used to build grassroots strength; a large public rally in Hingoli that Shinde has proposed will be a key test of the shift’s impact on voters and projects.