India, April 27 -- Former wrestler Chandrahar Patil, whose candidature from Sangli Lok Sabha constituency on Shiv Sena (UBT) ticket had become a bone of contention between the Congress and Uddhav Thackeray-led party during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, attended a dinner hosted by a Shiv Sena minister for deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday. This has led to speculations that he could be on his way to Shinde-led Sena, even though he clarified he had met Sena leaders to discuss sports-related issues. The development has put Shiv Sena (UBT) leadership in a tight spot as it had made Patil's candidature a prestige issue, which threatened the unity of the opposition coalition, Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA).

Patil reportedly met Shi...