Narayan Rane's ouster from the Shiv Sena will weaken Raj Thackerey's position on the party.
Rane, who enjoys good public support in Mumbai and Konkan region, is very close to Raj Thackerey.
The duo has been warring with Sena executive president Udhav Thackerey and his associates for an upper hand in party affairs.
On Monday, Rane indicated he would not resign as leader of the opposition and would call party legislators to elect a successor very soon.
Sources said he might consult his next move with Raj. It will be a bit blow for the Raj camp if Rane decides to split the party and go with the Nationalist Congress Party or the Congress.
Rane claims to have the support of 23 legislators and is aiming to split the party.
The loss of these MLAs would mean the party would be left with a majority of Uddhav supporters, thus weakening Raj's support base.
Former Maharashtra chief minister Manohar Joshi and Shiv Sena spokesperson Subhash Desai are Uddhav supporters, and Raj and Rane have accused them of promoting their supporters during the Lok Sabha and assembly elections.
Rane, who was known as a party hardliner, also opposed Udhav and his associates' moves to modernise the party.
After Udhav become the party's executive president, he tried to sideline hardliners to give the party a more contemporary and modern look.
Raj and Rane were also not happy with former Shiv Sena member of Parliament Sanjay Nirupam's hold in party.
After the party's debacle in the recent elections, Raj and Rane tried to change the party leadership, but failed because Uddhav had chief Bal Thackerey's absulute support.
Raj Thackerey had expressed his desire to become chief minister of Maharashtra. But Rane's move can shatter this dream.
