NAVI MUMBAI, Sept. 30 -- In a significant political development, deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde on Monday formally inducted Chandrakant Patil, the Navi Mumbai district president of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SP), into the Shiv Sena. This is just the latest in a series of defections that have severely impacted the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in the city. It also marks an escalation in the ongoing political tug-of-war within the ruling Mahayuti alliance in Navi Mumbai. The shift in loyalty by Patil, his son Vineet, and a few supporters, follows recent defections by top leaders of the Congress to the Shiv Sena, which has witnessed the bulk of incoming members from various parties compared to the Ganesh Naik-led BJP in recent times. Explaining his decision after the induction, which took place at Shinde's residence in Thane, Patil said he found Shinde unbiased during their interactions over quarry issues in Navi Mumbai. "I feel like if I have a leader like him, I will be able to do better work for my people. I will be able to resolve Navi Mumbai issues of Mathadis (manual workers), Lower Income Groups (LIG), and project-affected persons (PAPs)," added Patil, clarifying that his decision is not driven by discontent. The MVA has seen a host of its top leaders, including party presidents, quit to join either of the Mahayuti parties, leaving hardly any top leadership still in it. In June, Congress' former deputy mayor Ramakant Mhatre and party's former city youth president Aniket Mhatre had joined Shiv Sena....