Devendra Fadnavis
MUMBAI: In what is seen as an escalation in the fight between BJP and Shiv Sena since they parted ways in 2019, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday downgraded the security cover provided to his predecessor Devendra Fadnavis and his family, MNS president Raj Thackeray, former BJP city unit president Ashish Shelar and Union minister Ramdas Athavale of the RPI-A. Fadnavis went from Z+ to Y+ with escort and lost his bulletproof vehicle.
Those in BJP whose cover has been withdrawn altogether were state unit chief Chandrakant Patil, ex-CM Narayan Rane, and legislators Ram Kadam and Prasad Lad.
Home minister Anil Deshmukh denied vendetta politics, saying all decisions were taken on merit following recommendations from a threat perception committee.