Sanjay Raut Blames Ex-CJI Chandrachud for MVA’s Maharashtra Defeat

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday launched a scathing attack on former Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, accusing him of enabling political defections in Maharashtra by failing to rule on disqualification petitions.

Raut alleged that the former CJI’s inaction on the petitions filed after the Shiv Sena’s split in 2022 removed the fear of legal repercussions among defecting politicians. “His name will be written in black letters in history,” Raut remarked while addressing reporters.

The comments came in the wake of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance’s poor performance in the Maharashtra assembly elections. Shiv Sena (UBT) secured only 20 out of the 95 seats it contested, while its allies, the Congress and NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), won 16 and 10 seats, respectively.

Raut attributed the electoral loss to delayed rulings on disqualification petitions, which he believes could have influenced the outcome. “If the petitions had been resolved earlier, the results might have been different,” he stated.

The disqualification petitions were filed by Uddhav Thackeray’s faction after several MLAs defected to the Eknath Shinde camp, leading to a split in the Shiv Sena in 2022. The Supreme Court referred the matter to the assembly Speaker, who later ruled that the Shinde faction represented the “real political party.”

Raut expressed his party’s determination to continue the fight despite the setback. “We are sad but not disappointed. We will not leave the fight incomplete,” he asserted. He also accused the RSS of playing a divisive role and alleged that a “poisonous campaign” undermined his party’s chances.

In his weekly column in Saamana, the Shiv Sena (UBT) mouthpiece, Raut criticised the Election Commission for allegedly turning a blind eye to the use of money power during the elections. He further claimed that the judiciary has been “in the ICU for a long time,” suggesting a decline in its effectiveness.