Sambhajinagar set to witness political showdown on Sunday, with competing rallies amidst recent unrest 

A man who was injured in the police firing, succumbed to his wounds on Friday.

Shortly after Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (previously Aurangabad) witnessed rioting and arson, the city in the Marathwada region will be the focal point of political activity in the State on Sunday.

The ruling Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party have planned the ‘Savarkar Gaurav Yatra’ which will begin from Veer Savarkar circle, located a kilometre away from the MVA rally site.

The MVA rally will be held at Marathwada Sanskrutik Mandal ground, with speakers being led by Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, senior Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar and Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole.

Uddhav loyalist and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Subhash Desai said that the preparations for the rally were in place and the ground would be filled to capacity. “For those outside the venue, we have set up equipment to hear the speeches,” he said.

Mr. Desai’s party colleague and MLC Ambadas Danve in a video, asked his party functionaries to assemble for the rally calmly and peacefully, as there might be an attempt to cause friction among communities.

Meanwhile, Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar on Saturday said that one could never forget Hindutva ideologue V.D. Savarkar’s sacrifice for India’s freedom struggle. “But, disagreements over him cannot be made a national issue today as there are many pressing matters to focus on,” he said speaking to reporters in Nagpur.

Mr. Pawar said that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was not the first Indian who spoke about issues in the country while abroad, and Savarkar was not a national issue; it was an old thing.