In a column in Shiv Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana', party's Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut also claimed that the poll plunge of Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray's son Aaditya Thackeray will change the state's "political dynamics" in coming years. "The chief minister has been asserting that the opposition 'does not exist' any more in the poll campaign. The question then arises about the motive behind some 10 rallies of (Prime Minister) Modi, 30 of (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah, and Fadnavis himself holding 100 rallies across Maharashtra," Raut said. The chief minister said his party feels there should be smaller states, but when to take decision on this is upto the central leadership. Raut also claimed that the run up to Monday's state polls saw the highest number of political defections.

Source: Mint October 20, 2019 13:41 UTC