Shiv Sena MLA, who cried on camera for Uddhav Thackeray, votes for Shinde Camp; gets hooted by Opposition -- Watch

Ahead of Monday’s trust vote, in which Maharashtra Chief Minister won big with the support of 164 MLAs, another Shiv Sena MLA  jumped ship to the the Eknath Shinde Camp, further reducing the number of MLAs in Uddhav Thackeray’s support to 15. 

The one MLA who added to the sure-shot majority was Santosh Bangar who had publicly cried in support of Thackeray a little over a week ago. 

Late last night, Bangar went to the hotel in Mumbai where the newly sworn-in CM was staying with 39 other Sena MLAs supporting him, and officially defected to the rival camp. 

On June 24, when the political fiasco was on its peak and Thackeray was struggling to keep its flock intact, Bangar had posted a video addressing people in his constituency, weeping with folded hands in support of the Sena chief. 

The video showed a teary-eyed Bangar making an appeal to Shinde to return to the Sena camp, as he declared his allegiance to Thackeray. A supported wiped his tears with a handkerchief. 

"Balasaheb Thackeray, Uddhav-ji Thackeray tum aage badho, hum tumhare saath hain (Uddhav Thackeray, we are with you)," the MLA chanted, drawing applause and cheers from his audience.

आज मतदारसंघांमध्ये परत आल्यानंतर उपस्थित शिवसैनिकांना संबोधित करताना अश्रू अनावर झाले....शेवटच्या श्वासापर्यंत आदरणीय शिवसेना पक्षप्रमुख #उद्धव_ठाकरे साहेबा सोबत. @ShivSena @AUThackeray pic.twitter.com/loMHpUI4cL

— आमदार संतोष बांगर (@santoshbangar_) June 24, 2022

This morning, Bangar was hooted by the opposition MLAs as he voted in support of Eknath Shinde.

#WATCH | Santosh Bangar supported the Trust vote and was hooted at by the MLAs on the Opposition benches.

Bangar was in the Uddhav Thackeray camp of Shiv Sena until yesterday and was seen in the Eknath Shinde camp today. pic.twitter.com/FDewzcw0fB

— ANI (@ANI) July 4, 2022

Thackeray camp had suffered another setback on Sunday after BJP's Rahul Narvekar was chosen as the Speaker of the Assembly, who later removed Shiv Sena MLA Ajay Chaudhary as the legislative party leader.