Thackeray Suffers Major Blow: Raut's Aides Defect to Shinde's Shiv Sena in Mumbai

• Raju Naik and Dinesh Kubal, close associates of Vinayak Raut, defected to Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena in Mumbai.
• Dinesh Kubal, current corporator of Kalina Ward No. 89, joined Shinde's faction with many workers.
• NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) workers Ravindra Ghusalkar, Raju Shetty, and Vishal Kanawaje also joined Shinde's Shiv Sena.
• The defections are a significant setback for Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena and NCP ahead of municipal elections.
• Seat-sharing issues between Thackeray faction and MNS in Dadar-Mahim, with Thackeray faction getting 4 seats and MNS 2, still causing internal friction.

Why It Matters: Major defections and internal seat-sharing disputes weaken Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena in Mumbai.