n an obvious attempt to expand the footprint of the Shiv Sena beyond Maharashtra and nationally, party supremo and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has embarked on an ambitious exercise and has already set the project in motion. He has appointed Abhishek Verma, whose chequered fame predates his political career, as the national convener for this prestigious task; Verma was featured on the cover of India Today in November, 1997, as India’s youngest billionaire at the age of 29 and presided over a global business empire with operations in India, Europe, Russia and the Middle East, spanning defence manufacturing, aerospace, nuclear energy and advanced technologies.

Shinde is engaged in a court battle with Uddhav Thackeray over the allotment of the party symbol, which has been awarded to h

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