Even as it is fighting the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena in the Supreme Court, the Eknath Shinde faction has been trying to appease the former. Shinde group's spokesperson Deepak Kesarkar on Friday claimed that he had convinced Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stop a smear campaign against Aaditya Thackeray in the Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death case.

Addressing a media conference, Kesarkar said he had taken a lead to approach PM Modi after BJP leader Narayan Rane levelled baseless charges in the Rajput death case, which would have destroyed the personal and political life of Aaditya. "We were deeply hurt when Rane levelled baseless charges against Aaditya saheb. A youngster who has a bright political future was maligned for no reason,” he said.