Summary:
On Monday, Sharad Sonawane, the lone MLA of the rival Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) jumped ship to the Shiv Sena. Sonawane is a legislator from Junnar in Pune, which falls in the constituency of Shiv Sena MP Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil, who is seeking a fourth term in Parliament from Shirur. A Shiv Sena MLA from rural Maharashtra described the alliance decision as "political suicide." The second-term MLA was first elected as a MNS nominee in 2009 and shifted to the Shiv Sena in 2014. It may have pulled back from the threat to contest the Lok Sabha elections sans an alliance with the BJP, but the Shiv Sena is witnessing a tizzy of ayarams and gayarams..