Shinde-led Shiv Sena names Gajanan Kirtikar as parliamentary party leader, ousts Sanjay Raut

New Delhi/ Mumbai: The Shiv Sena, led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, has sacked Sanjay Raut as leader of its parliamentary party, replacing him with Lok Sabha MP Gajanan Kirtikar.

In a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, Shinde, who is the chief leader of the Shiv Sena, said Kirtikar has been appointed as leader of the Shiv Sena Parliamentary Party.

Sena leaders on Thursday felicitated Kirtikar at its parliamentary party office on the third floor of the Parliament building.

Reacting to the development, Raut in Mumbai said had he accepted money and "surrendered", he would have retained the post.

"Even we were asked (to switch loyalties). I said I spit on your offer. I will not betray Balasaheb Thackeray, Uddhav Thackeray and Shiv Sena. We are self-respecting people and my party has given me a lot," Raut said.

Of the 18 Shiv Sena members in the Lok Sabha, four are supporters of Uddhav Thackeray who has lost control of the party to Shinde.

Shinde split the Shiv Sena last year, accusing Thackeray of compromising on the party's ideology by forming a government in Maharashtra in alliance with arch rivals Congress and NCP.

Last month, the Election Commission recognised the Shinde-led faction as the real Shiv Sena and allocated the name and poll symbol to it.

The Shiv Sena has three members in the Rajya Sabha, Sanjay Raut, Anil Desai and Priyanka Chaturvedi, who owe allegiance to Thackeray.