Mumbai, Jan 27 (PTI) Shiv Sena (UBT) senior woman leader Rajul Patel on Monday joined the Shiv Sena led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, claiming she was ignored in her parent party despite long association.

The defection of Patel, a deputy leader of Sena (UBT), is seen as a setback for the Uddhav Thackeray camp ahead of the upcoming Mumbai civic body elections.

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"Despite serving the party (Sena-UBT) for many years, I was ignored. Eknath Shinde always worked for the common man, and I was impressed by his work as chief minister. That is why I decided to join his party," Patel said.

Patel had expressed interest in contesting the assembly elections from the Versova constituency but she was reportedly sidelined with Shiv Sena (UBT) fielding Haroon Khan, who eventually won the seat.

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Patel, a three-time corporator who held various positions in the municipal corporation's committees, had been disgruntled ever since.

She was known as one of the senior-most women leaders of Sena (UBT) and worked as an organiser for assembly polls.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)