MUMBAI, July 2 -- Deputy chief minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde will set up a trust - Shivkosh - to manage Shiv Sena's offices and shakhas. This was announced by Sena MP Naresh Mhaske at the party's national conclave in the city on Monday. Sena chief spokesperson Deepak Kesarkar said, "We have created a fund called Shivakosh to construct offices in every district. One office has already been constructed at Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, which will be replicated in every district. This is being done to spread the party's message. The ownership of the offices will remain with the trust that is run by Shiv Sena." Ironically, the move stems from losses suffered by Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray each time members of his party defected and held on to the official properties. Most prominently, when former chief minister Narayan Rane exited the composite Sena in 2005, one of his associates Neelam Dolas chose not to relinquish ownership of the shakha office near Chembur station. Similarly, some more shakhas were lost in the same period. Despite ownership of a shakha property, the tacit understanding in the party is that after a leader exits the party, the shakha remains with the Sena. When Shinde exited Shiv Sena in 2022, most of the party offices in Thane were taken over by his local leaders. This was possible because the offices were owned by them. Shinde's leaders took over the Anand Ashram -- the house and office of Shinde's mentor Anand Dighe -- and converted it into their central office. Last year, the two opposing factions had a dispute over an office at Panjrapole, near Chembur, but finally decided to share the space. Sources in Sena said, fearing similar rebellion, Shinde decided to put the present system in place. Meanwhile, after learning their lesson, Sena (UBT) listed most of its properties under Shivai Trust in 2023....