Milind Deora's resignation from Congress long in the making; Mumbai South seat in question

livemint.com:

Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra on Sunday from Imphal, Manipur, while Senior Congress leader Milind Deora announced his resignation from the grand old party to join Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. Hours after he ended his 56-year-old association with the Congress party by joining the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, Milind Deora blamed Congress' deviation from its “ideological and organisational roots, lacking appreciation for honesty and constructive criticism".

However, reports have suggested that the exit from Congress for Milind Deora was long in the making and not a sudden decision. Congress' communication chief Jairam Ramesh had told Indian Express that Milind Deora remained skeptical about the South Bombay Lok Sabha seat.

Notably, the Congress and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) faction are now opposition INDIA bloc allies, which meant that the South Bombay seat was likely to be allotted to Shiv Sena (UBT) during seat-sharing talks. Milind Deora had contested the last four elections from Mumbai South Lok Sabha seat, and represented the constituency from 2004 to 2014.

Milind Deora lost Mumbai South to the Shiv Sena’s Arvind Sawant in 2014 and 2019, abruptly quitting as the Mumbai Congress president in the middle of the Lok Sabha campaign five years ago to focus on his efforts to win back the constituency. However, Arvind Sawant, the MP from Mumbai South stayed with Uddhav Thackeray even as Eknath Shinde led a clout to rebel, thereby dividing Shiv Sena.

Reports reveal that former CM Uddhav Thackeray is said to have pushed for the Mumbai South constituency to remain with Shiv Sena . In a recently released video Deora was seen advising his supporters and workers to remain calm and asked Sena not to stake a claim on any Lok Sabha