In another jolt to the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, party spokesperson and former Mumbai corporator Sheetal Mhatre on Tuesday, 12 July, joined the Eknath Shinde-led faction.
Mhatre, who represented ward no. 7 in suburban Dahisar in north Mumbai in 2012 and 2017, is the first former Shiv Sena corporator to have openly announced support for the newly sworn-in Maharashtra chief minister.
On Tuesday night, Mhatre along with some Shiv Sena workers, visited Shinde's residence to express her support, news agency PTI reported.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena had appointed Mhatre as the 'sampark sanghatak' (coordinator) for the Alibaug-Pen area.