Finally, the entrance of former Bollywood actress Urmila Matondkar in Shiv Sena has been confirmed by a senior aide to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said here on Monday. Urmila will join the party on Tuesday, December 1.
Since 14 months, the 46-year-old has been denying that she was planning to join the Shiv Sena, though strong speculation was circulating in political and media circles.
The CM's aide Harshal Pradhan, "Very late last night things were finalized and she will join the Shiv Sena formally in presence of party president and CM Thackerayji on Tuesday.”
Shiv Sena MP and Chief Spokesperson Sanjay Raut while speaking to the media on Monday said that "she is already a Shiv Sainik, just wait for the formal announcement".
In anticipation of her move, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) earlier this month submitted Matondkar's name along with 11 others, to Raj Bhavan for nomination to the Maharashtra Legislative Council from the Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari's quota.
After Urmila’s defeat in 2019 Lok Sabha elections at the hands of Bharatiya Janata Party's Gopal Shetty in Mumbai North constituency, she left congress on September 10, 2019. Shiv Sena will be Matondkar’s second party.
Also Read: UP farmers refrained by police to cross the Delhi-Ghaziabad border to join protests
In fact, before the October 2019 Maharashtra Assembly polls, there was strong speculation that she would join the Sena. The news was that either she would join Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party or even Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, but she had denied calling it as rumours.
A party insider said that Matondkar will be an asset for the party to put out Sena’s message on a national level as she is a popular face in the country and has a good social connect with Maharashtra.