Chhatrapati Shivaji's kin end feud

Chhatrapati Shivaji’s descendants have ended years of acrimony and promised to work as a team, with the Maratha king’s 13th direct descendant criticising Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray for “misusing” the family name.

Udayanraje Bhosle also targeted NCP chief Sharad Pawar, saying, “During a visit to Satara, (then Prime Minister) Indira Gandhi had expressed the desire that the Bhosle dynasty should grow and make a bigger contribution to society but the efforts were thwarted by the likes of late Yashwantrao Chavan and Sharad Pawar.”

Criticising Chavan and Pawar, Udayanraje said the Bhosle dynasty had lagged behind due to them. “Even Thackeray capitalised on our family name and benefited a lot, but our dynasty was left behind,” he said.

At a function on Saturday at Adalatwada in western Maharashtra, Udayanraje and his cousin and NCP MLA Shivendrasinhraje Bhosle hugged each other and announced they would work as a team. “We have waited for the last 12 years for this moment,” Udayanraje said. “We will bring all independent MLAs in Maharashtra together,” said Udayanraje, a former state minister who quit BJP and joined the Congress earlier this year. Political observers, however, attributed the truce to political expediency.