Eknath Shinde attended a Dahi Handi event at Tembhi Naka in Thane
Maharashtra Chief minister Eknath Shinde. File Pic
Alluding to his rebellion against the Shiv Sena leadership in June which toppled the Sena-NCP-Congress coalition government in the state, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday said he and his supporters "broke a very tough Dahi Handi".
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Shinde, who was sworn in as chief minister on June 30 with the support of the BJP and fifty-odd MLAs including those from the Shiv Sena, attended a Dahi Handi event at Tembhi Naka.
"You are breaking a Dahi Handi now. We broke a very tough Dahi Handi one and a half months back. It was very difficult, high, and we had to put up 50 strong layers but we succeeded," said the rebel Shiv Sena leader.
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While Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray wanted a party worker to become Maharashtra chief minister, the late Anand Dighe wanted a Sena worker from Thane to get the top post, he said.
Dighe, a prominent face of the Shiv Sena in Thane in the 1990s, is considered to be Shinde's mentor.
Dighe's wish has been fulfilled now, the chief minister said, speaking before a huge crowd of revellers and supporters.
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Dahi Handi, where troupes of 'Govindas' vie with each other to form human pyramids and break earthen pots of curd or buttermilk suspended high above the ground, is a popular feature of the Krishna Janmashtami festivities in Maharashtra.
In Mumbai and Thane, the event also gets political patronage in a big way.
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