Shiv Sena workers raised slogans and showered petals on the CM as he left his official house along with his family members at around 9.50 pm. He reached outside Matoshri at around 10.30 pm. However, it took another 40 minutes for the CM to cover a short distance from outside Matoshri to inside his residence. Amid the escalating political crisis in Maharashtra triggered by Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde's rebellion, Uddhav, in an address to the state, had stated: "I will submit my resignation letter if they come and ask for it. If any MLA wants me to not continue as the CM, I am ready to take all my belongings from Varsha Bungalow (official residence of the CM) to Matoshree."
Shiv Sena's chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut asserted Thackeray will not resign following the rebellion and maintained the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will prove its majority in the Assembly if required.
Sena MLA Kailas Patil says he escaped while being taken to Gujarat
Thackeray, through a Facebook live, reached out to rebels with an emotional appeal and offered to quit, saying he will be happy if a Shiv Sainik succeeds him. Thackeray said he was ready to step down if the rebel leader and MLAs supporting him, all camping in Guwahati in the BJP-ruled Assam, declare that they don't want him to continue as CM.
Thackeray, who has tested positive for Covid-19, admitted to being inexperienced and clarified that a spine surgery late last year kept him away from meeting people. Recalling the events of November 2019 when the MVA took shape, Thackeray said he agreed to become CM despite his political inexperience after NCP president Sharad Pawar suggested him to take up the job.
Wary of 2019 failure to form govt, BJP to tread with caution this time
Thackeray said he was shocked at the ongoing political developments in the state, which started on Monday night when Shinde (58) raised a banner of revolt and landed in a hotel in Surat with a bunch of disgruntled MLAs. The CM reiterated his party's commitment to Hindutva. "Hindutva is Shiv Sena's breath. I was the first CM to speak about Hindutva in the Legislative Assembly," Thackeray said.
Showing no signs of backing down from his revolt, Shinde said MVA was an "unnatural" alliance and it was imperative for the Shiv Sena to walk out of the coalition for its own sake and that of party workers. The Sena strongman said the MVA was beneficial only to alliance partners the Congress and the NCP, while ordinary Shiv Sainiks have suffered the most in the last two-and-a-half years of the coalition's existence.
Shortly after landing in Guwahati, Assam along with other rebel MLAs from Maharashtra, Shiv Sena minister Eknath Shinde told reporters there were 40 MLAs present along with him, who would "carry forward Balasaheb Thackeray's Hindutva". Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena shifted its 12 MLAs to the St Regis hotel in Lower Parel.
Out of touch with MLAs, lacklustre in administration, how Uddhav Thackeray lost the plot
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari tested positive for Covid-19, and was admitted to the HN Reliance Foundation Hospital in south Mumbai for treatment. The 80-year-old, who has been seen wearing a face mask at public events, said his symptoms were mild and he has been admitted in hospital as a precautionary measure.
Crisis on the way: intel warned Maharashtra govt two months ago
The Shiv Sena, which heads the MVA, has 55 MLAs, followed by allies the NCP (53) and the Congress (44) in the 288-member assembly where the current simple majority mark is 144. Earlier, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut claimed that 14 to 15 Sena MLAs, including some ministers, are with Shinde in Gujarat's Surat city. However, another party leader had said the number could be 23. This is for the first time that the rebel MLAs outside the northeast region have been brought to Assam.
Rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde interacts with supporting MLAs at a hotel in Guwahati on Thursday. (Photo: PTI)
Rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde sent a letter to Deputy Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Narhari Zirwal late Thursday night regarding the reaffirmation of appointment of Shinde as the leader of Shiv Sena Legislature Party and appointment of Bharatshet Gogawale as the Chief Whip of Sena legislative party.
"I am enclosing herewith a copy of the Resolution dated 23 day of June 2022 (hereinafter to be referred as the Resolution) regarding the reaffirmation of appointment of Mr. Eknathrao Sambhaji Shinde as the leader of our Shiv Sena Legislature Party and further appointment of Shri Bharatshet Gogawale as the Chief Whip of the Shiv Sena Legislature Party by the undersigned members of Shiv Sena Legislature Party," the letter read.
The rebel Shiv Sena MLAs, in their resolution endorsing their acceptance of rebel minister Eknath Shinde’s leadership, also mentioned “tremendous harassment and distress” faced by the Sena cadre on “political as well as personal grounds” from the “opposition ideological parties” among the reasons why they wanted to chart a new political trajectory for the party in Maharashtra.
Some of these Sena MLAs have, however, alleged earlier that the party cadre and leaders have been facing “harassment” in the form of investigations launched by various agencies of the BJP-ruled Centre against them. Read more
Elaborating on his earlier tweet, Eknath Shinde added: “Whom are you trying to scare. We understand the law and the farce that you are playing. As per the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, the application of a whip is limited to the functioning of legislative assembly and not for meetings. There are numerous SC rulings in this regard. We know the law and are unaffected by your threats.”
Reacting to the Shiv Sena’s move seeking disqualification of 12 MLAs in his camp, rebel leader Eknath Shinde said: “The whip, which you are citing for disqualification, is for Assembly work and not meetings. We are the real Shiv Sainiks following the principles of Balasaheb.”
The newly appointed Shiv Sena legislature party leader Ajay Choudhari met the acting speaker Narhari Zhirwal on Thursday asking him to take action against the 12 MLAs who have joined the Eknath Shinde faction for violating party discipline. Speaking to The Indian Express, Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant said, “We had called for two meetings on June 22 and a whip was issued by Sunil Prabhu. These MLAs were given notices and asked why they were not present. Some gave explanations, but they may be real or fake. Hence, we have sought their disqualification.”
Agriculture minister Dada Bhuse and and former minister Sanjay Rathod reached the Radisson Blu Hotel in Guwahati to join Eknath Shinde’s camp. Bhuse is a close Eknath Shinde supporter and had reportedly told the CM Uddhav Thackeray that the Shiv Sena must align with the BJP. He left for Guwhati via Surat. Alongwith him were MLC Ravindra Phatak from Thane who had gone with Sena functionary Milind Narvekar to convince Shinde to come back.
The latest round of the uniquely Indian exercise of ‘resort politics’ is playing out in Assam where a five-star hotel in Guwahati has become the centre of the ongoing political crisis in Maharashtra. The MLAs led by Eknath Shinde were, at first, in a hotel in Surat in BJP-ruled Gujarat after reaching there on Monday. Afterwards, they flew to Guwahati in Assam, another BJP-ruled state, on Wednesday. Here, they have been camping at a five-star hotel which the rebel MLAs have booked for seven days, showing that it was ready for a long haul to get what they wanted.
We take a look at the cost of rooms at these properties in Gujarat and Assam to get an idea of how expensive this ‘operation’ has been for Eknath Shinde and the MLAs. Read More
As the Shiv Sena appeared to offer a compromise by saying that it was ready to move out of the ruling alliance in Maharashtra if the rebel MLAs returned within 24 hours, the Nationalist Congress Party said that it would stick by CM Uddhav Thackeray till the end as the current government has the ability to win a floor test if proper procedures are followed. “I have seen many such situations in Maharashtra and I am confident that the Uddhav Thackeray government will go past this crisis,” NCP chief Sharad Pawar said.
A chartered aircraft, three luxury buses, and a hotel about a kilometre from the airport — it has been a costly affair for Eknath Shinde to get the rebel MLAs out of Maharashtra so as to try and break the Shiv Sena away from the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Read More
Amid the ongoing political crisis in Maharashtra, Deputy Chief Minister and senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar said that his party stands tall beside the Shiv Sena. “We will stand with Uddhav Thackeray ji till the end. We are keeping an eye on the current political situation,” he added.
Agriculutre Minister Dada Bhuse also left for Guwahati to join the Eknath Shinde faction. Bhuse is a close Eknath Shinde supporter and had reportedly told the CM Uddhav Thackeray that the Shiv Sena must align with the BJP
He left for Guwhati via Surat. Alongwith him were MLC Ravindra Phatak from Thane who had gone with Sena functionary Milind Narvekar to convince Shinde to come back. Former minister and Yavatmal MLA also travelled in the same Cessna Citation XLS from Surat to Guwahati.
Amid the political crisis ensuing in Maharashtra, Mrinal Pande writes: "The battle for the heart of Maharashtra unfolds before us like a scene out of the Greco Roman wars. On one side, we have the somewhat battle-weary combined forces of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi; on the other, Eknath Shinde, the mighty dissident from the Shiv Sena with his swelling band of brothers, claiming that the coalition that the Sena had made with Sharad Pawar’s NCP and Sonia Gandhi’s Congress was unholy." Read More
On Wednesday, Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena supremo tried to get a measure of his support amongst elected Shiv Sena MLAs by calling a meeting of the legislators. There are 15 MLAs who showed up, eight of whom are from Mumbai alone. We take look at who these MLAs are and where they hail from. Read More
Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan said on Thursday that he did not think that Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray would do an "about-turn" and agree to the rebel Shiv Sena MLAs' demand that the Sena pull out of the ruling MVA alliance.
Chavan was reacting to Sena MP Sanjay Raut's statement earlier in the day that the Sena was "ready to consider" the demand of the MLAs led by Eknath Shinde that it should end the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance with the NCP and Congress. “Does Sena want to join hands with the BJP in Maharashtra? The motives of Shiv Sena are not yet clear,” Chavan, a former chief minister, told reporters when asked about Raut's comment.
“I have not heard Uddhav Thackeray sounding like this in his Wednesday evening's public address. I would be surprised if Uddhav Thackeray does such an about-turn in less than 24 hours. I don't think that Thackeray would do that,” he said. (PTI)
At a time when Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said that his party will re-think the ruling alliance in Maharashtra if the rebel leaders returned to Mumbai, NCP leader Jayant Patil said: “Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi is a government established for the development and welfare of Maharashtra. We will stand firmly with Uddhav Thackeray.”
Following Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut’s comments that his party will re-think the ruling alliance in Maharashtra if the rebel leaders returned to Mumbai, Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole said: “We are with them (Shiv Sena) to stop the BJP from coming to power. This game is happening due to the ED... Congress is ready for a floor test. If they (Shiv Sena) want to form an alliance with anyone, we don't have a problem.”
Amid the political crisis that is currently going in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena MLAs Kailash Patil and Nitin Deshmukh returned to Mumbai on Thursday after having defected to the Eknath Shinde camp earlier. They were felicitated by senior Sena leaders upon their return.
After managing to bring a huge number of Shiv Sena MLAs into his fold, rebel leader Eknath Shinde has made a list of at least 400 former corporators and a few MPs who are expected to cross over to his side after he joins the new government, said sources Thursday. This may be another big jolt to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and will create a challenge for the party to prevail in the upcoming civic body election likely to be held in three to four months, post monsoon. Read More
In an attempt to abate the ongoing crisis, senior Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said that the party is ready to re-think its alliance with the Congress and NCP if they returned to Mumbai in the next 24 hours. “If you are saying you are not leaving Shiv Sena and if your issue is with government, then we are willing to come out of it. But first, show the courage to come back and put forth your demands to Uddhav Thackeray. It will be considered if you come back within 24 hours,” Raut said.
Addressing a press conference, Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut said that the party is in touch with 21 of its MLAs in Guwahati. "Let them release photos or videos showing number of MLAs they have. But the day they will return to Mumbai, the MLAs will be with Shiv Sena. In future, if a situation of having a floor test in state assembly arises, we have sufficient numbers to win," Raut said.
Meanwhile, all the Sena workers in the state have been asked to contact the family members or close associates of the rebel Sena MLAs and through them make an attempt to convince them to return.
Confident that the crisis has been abated, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said that Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray was in touch with the 21 MLAs in Guwahati. “We have made a contact with the 21 sena MLAs who are in a Guwahati hotel. The MLAs will be with Shiv Sena. In future, if a situation of having floor test in state assembly then we have sufficient numbers to win,” he added.
42 rebel MLAs, part of the Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde's camp, are now in the Radisson Blu hotel in Guwahati.
Of the 42 MLAs, 35 are from the Shiv Sena and 7 are Independents.
Maharashtra Legislative Assembly's Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal said he has approved the appointment of Ajay Choudhary as the Shiv Sena's group leader in the House, replacing rebel legislator Eknath Shinde.
The Shiv Sena on Tuesday removed Shinde as the party's group leader in the Assembly, hours after he revolted and and travelled to Surat in Gujarat with some Shiv Sena MLAs, triggering a crisis in the tripartite Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA-comprising the Sena, NCP and Congress) government in Maharashtra.
Zirwal said, "I have received a letter from the Shiv Sena, informing me that it is appointing Ajay Choudhary as the party's leader in the Assembly and removing Shinde from the post with immediate effect." "I have accepted the letter, which was sent by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray,” the deputy speaker said, adding that Shinde's removal as the Sena group leader in the Assembly was valid. (PTI)
NCP leader Jayant Patil said that the stage to conduct a floor test has not been reached yet.
A meeting of NCP MLAs has been convened at 5 pm on Thursday, he told reporters. "I have invited all our MLAs for a meeting to brief them on the ongoing developments. Our MPs, organisation chief (Sharad Pawar) will be there too," Patil said.
He added that in a meeting held today at the residence of NCP chief Sharad Pawar, an assessment of the incidents in the last 3-4 days was done. "Pawar sahib told us that we should do everything that needs to be done to ensure that the government remains. We will stand with Uddhav Thackeray," Patil said.
"If government stays we will be in power, if government goes we will sit in Opposition," he added.
After being picked up by the Guwahati police from the Radisson Blu Hotel, the TMC Assam unit shifted their protest to the Azara Police station nearby. “We are still at the Azara police station. We were able to protest for about 30 minutes – after which the police scuffled with us,” TMC Asaam unit chief Ripun Bora told The Indian Express.
“Instead of helping flood victims, the BJP is indulging in horsetrading. We demand that they put a stop to this at once, help flood victims, instead of buying and selling MLAs,” said Bora.
Amidst the political crisis in Maharashtra with as many as 37 Shiv Sena MLAs along with Eknath Shinde camping in Assam’s Guwahati, the Shiv Sena Thursday alleged that the BJP was behind the turmoil in the state even as it asked the rebel legislators to be careful and wise.
An editorial in the Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana said the MLAs, who got elected on the party’s tickets, on the efforts of the party’s workers and its money, have been trapped in the grip of the BJP and stated that those who are dreaming of forming a new government in Maharashtra are their dreams. Read more
Even as the number of rebels in the group led by Shiv Sena minister Eknath Shinde is rising, senior Sena leaders said that at least 17-20 party MLAs have been on the radar of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and want to “get out of their predicament” by jumping ship.
Other 10-15 rebels who are also involved in various businesses also feared getting ED notices, added the Sena leaders. When asked whether ED notices were the prime reason behind the Sena MLAs trying to join hands with the BJP, Shiv Sena chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut told the Indian Express on Thursday, “As per my information a majority of the rebel MLAs have received ED notices. The BJP has been putting pressure on them through the ED. Other MLAs were also on the watch of the agency.” Read more
Earlier this afternoon, BJP MLA and Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs and Irrigation Ashok Singhal paid a visit to Radisson Blu hotel in Guwahati to meet the rebel MLAs of the Shiv Sena. Since yesterday, BJP MLAs Pallab Lochan Das, Sushanta Borgohain and Pijush Hazarika have visited the hotel at different times. Sources said that three more MLAs joined the rebel camp this morning.
In a letter penned by MLA Sanjay Shirsat, belonging to the Eknath Shinde camp, grievances were voiced about the CM being inaccessible and Sena leaders being denied the opportunity to visit Ayodhya.
"When Hindutva and Ram Mandir are crucial issues for the party, why were we stopped from visiting Ayodhya. MLAs were called and were stopped from going to Ayodhya along with Aaditya Thackeray," Shirsat said in the letter.
"While we weren't able to meet the CM, people from our 'real opposition' - the Congress and NCP - used to get opportunities to meet him and even funds were given to them related to work in their constituencies," the letter read.
Shirsat further wrote that despite the CM being from the Shiv Sena, party MLAs did not get the opportunity to visit the Varsha bungalow. He added that Sena MLAs felt insulted as those around Uddhav Thackeray would decide if party legislators could meet him.
Four more Shiv Sena MLAs Mangesh Kudalkar (Kurla assembly seat), Sada Sarvankar (Mahim), Ashish Jaiswal (Ramtek), and Deepak Kasarkar (Sawantwadi ) reached Surat through by road from different places in Maharashtra Wednesday night and flew out to Guwahati to join the other rebels early Thursday, sources told The Indian Express.
All these MLAs were taken to Hotel Le Meridien on Surat-Dumas Road under police protection, where some seven rooms were pre-booked. They flew out of Surat airport to Guwahati in a 6 am non-scheduled chartered flight on Thursday. The Surat airport is barely a kilometre from the hotel.
Sources said policemen accompanied them to the Surat airport as a precautionary measure. Large number of Surat police officers have been deployed since Monday night at the three gates of the hotel even as the hotel remained restricted for guests, for the fourth day in a row. The staff allowed entry to only those with bookings.
Among the three Shiv Sena MLAs who went missing on Wednesday night and reached the Radisson Blu hotel in Guwahati on Thursday is Maharashtra minister Deepak Kesarkar. He was warmly welcomed by the rebel MLAs who have been in Guwahati since Wednesday morning.
Three more MLAs of the Shiv Sena have joined Eknath Shine's camp in Assam’s Guwahati since Wednesday night.
According to the sources, at least three MLAs who were in Mumbai have gone unreachable since Wednesday night indicating that they have also joined Shinde in Guwahati. On Thursday morning, Sena MLAs Deepak Kesarkar, Sada Sarvankar, and Aashish Jaiswal reached Radisson Blu in Guwahati and were welcomed by Eknath Shinde and other rebel legislators. With the addition of these three MLAs, at least 37 Sena legislators are siding with Shinde which is two-thirds of the party’s strength in the legislature.
Jaiswal said, "It is high time for introspection to understand why so many Sena MLAs revolted."
About 30 workers led by TMC Assam unit chief Ripun Bora, protested outside the Radisson Blu Hotel in Guwahati where dissident Shiv Sena leaders are currently camping.
The protestors accused the Assam Govt led by Himanta Biswa Sarma of indulging in “horsetrading”, when the state was in the grip of a devastating flood. The protestors were detained by the Guwahati police soon after as they “did not have permission". “We have taken them to the Basishta police station,” said Nabaneet Mahanta, Deputy Commissioner of Guwahati Police(West) adding: “They were protesting without permission.”
He added that there were about 25-30 and sloganeering did not last for more than 10 minutes.
In the wake of the Shiv Sena-led Maharashtra government facing a crisis, party MP Krupal Tumane denied reports of joining the rebel faction led by Eknath Shinde, and asserted that he was with the Sena.
Tumane, the Lok Sabha member from Ramtek in Nagpur, said "patience is the need of the hour". Tumane said, "Nobody has contacted me, nor I have supported anyone. I am with the Shiv Sena only. Some information is being spread about me, which is absolutely incorrect. Keeping patience is the need of the hour." (PTI)
NCP president Sharad Pawar has convened a meeting of party MLAs and MLCs. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has convened a meeting of all secretaries in Mantralaya at 12.30 pm via video conferencing.
Leader of opposition Devendra Fadnavis' official residence Sagar has become a centre where BJP's top leadership is meeting to plan and monitor the developments following a revolt in the Shiv Sena.
The state BJP president Chandrakant Patil said, "We'll wait and watch."
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said Nitin Deshmukh, who claimed he was kidnapped and forcefully taken to a hospital in Surat, will hold a press conference today.
"The CM won't hold any meeting today, some MLAs are going to Varsha Bungalow for official work," Raut added.
Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut hit out at the Eknath Shinde-led camp of rebel MLAs saying that those who leave the party under the pressure of probes by the Enforcement Directorate are not true 'Balasaheb Bhakts'. "Even we are under ED pressure but will continue to stand with Uddhav Thackeray. When floor test happens everyone will see who's positive and who is negative," he said.
Raut and other leaders of the MVA alliance have often accused the BJP-led Centre of misusing central agencies like the ED to exert influence on those who don't speak in one voice with them.
Raut further told ANI, "I won't talk about any camp, I will talk about my party. Our party is strong even to this day. About 20 MLAs are in touch with us. When they come to Mumbai, it will be revealed that in what circumstances did these MLAs leave us."
A meeting is underway between NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, state Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil, ministers Jayant Patil and Jitendra Awhad and party leader Sunil Tatkare at the residence of the NCP chief.
In the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly, the Shiv Sena had 55 MLAs, NCP has 53 legislators and Congress has 44 members. As the number of rebel MLAs with Eknath Shinde rises to 37, the dissident Sena leader inches closer to evading the anti-defection law.
The law allows the defection of two-third MLAs of a single party to another party without any penalty, bringing the number Shinde requires on his side to 37. If he sums up the support of more than 37 MLAs, Shinde and the leaders in his camp will not be disqualified and can topple the government through a floor test in the Maharashtra Assembly.
Read more about the anti-defection law
Rebel MLAs in Guwahati wrote a resolution on Wednesday saying there was “enormous discontent” among Shiv Sena leaders and cadres for being allied with the “ideologically opposite” NCP and Congress, and forging the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition.
They declareded Eknath Shinde their group leader and Bharat Gogawale as the chief whip of Shiv Sena legislature party in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, in the seven-page resolution.
The MLAs added that party workers have been facing “humiliating queries” for supporting Sena's ideological opponents. “We have also been subjected to a lot of criticism for being part of this corrupt Maharashtra government,” the letter stated, adding, “The ideology of our party’s leader the late Balasaheb Thackeray was to give a clean and honest government to the people of Maharashtra and also without compromising on the principle of Hindutva, which was defeated on the first day itself by aligning with the opposing ideologies.”
As dissident Maharashtra MLAs camp in Guwahati, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi hit out at the BJP for ignoring the floods in the state to chase power.
"If there's a crisis, it's that of floods. BJP has gone blind for power. There are floods in Assam. PM should visit the state, announce a special package, but he's busy toppling Maharashtra government or in Gujarat elections. Only power is everything for BJP," Gogoi said.
Delhi BJP spokesperson Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga filed a complaint against Thackeray for allegedly violating Covid-19 related protocols by meeting his supporters while heading to his personal residence from his official house, police said.
Prior to leaving Varsha, Thackeray also met MLAs and MPs.
In the ongoing turmoil in the Shiv Sena, one thing that has come out in the open is that the party has a problem when it comes to getting along with Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) – its alliance partner in the state’s ruling Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.
A few MLAs belonging to the rebel group led by Eknath Shinde made it clear that they don’t have a problem dealing with the Congress – the third alliance partner – even as they are at odds with the NCP across the state. Read more
The decision to fly out the rebel Shiv Sena and Independent MLAs from Surat to Guwahati, both in BJP-ruled states, was taken after it was learnt that at least two Sena MLAs were not on the same page as Shinde — and that Surat was “too close to Maharashtra”, which might lead to the revolt failing, sources told The Indian Express.
Surat was initially considered a “safe” place, given that it is home to the influential Gujarat BJP chief C R Paatil. And yet, it was Paatil aide and Surat Municipal Corporation standing committee chairman Paresh Patel, who managed the evacuation of MLAs to Guwahati. Read more
Nearly two decades back, in July 1992, faced with an unprecedented attack on his style of functioning from detractors within and outside the Shiv Sena, Shiv supremo Bal Thackeray had surprised many by publicly offering to step down and sever ties with the party.
“Even if one Shiv Sainik stands against me and my family and says I left the Shiv Sena because of you or you hurt us, I am not prepared to continue as Shiv Sena chief for one moment,” Bal Thackeray wrote in the party mouthpiece Saamana.
Now, three decades after that speech, son Uddhav Thackeray has fallen back on a similar appeal – as a last desperate bid to hold on to both his party and government with rebel Eknath Shinde claiming the support of more than 30 of the party’s 55 MLAs. Read more
Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray addressed a press conference, saying the Shiv Sena and the Hindutva can never be separated. “I may be the first person to talk about Hindutva in the Vidhan Sabha. Even then, some people are of the opinion that this is not Balsaheb’s Shiv Sena,” he said on Wedesday evening.
Here are all what the chief minister said:
? All the surveys declared me as one of the top five chief ministers in the country during the outbreak of Covid-19.
? Why did the CM not meet the people – was a question raised by some. I had undergone a surgery, so I could not meet people then. Even then, I conducted the first Cabient meeting from the hospital.
More quotes from his speech here
Shiv Sena Sawantwadi MLA Deepak Kesarkar Wednesday came out in support of cabinet minister Eknath Shinde’s demand to form the Maharashtra government in an alliance with the BJP. Kesarkar, however, added that he was still in party president Uddhav Thackeray’s camp.
The three-time MLA said there was discontent among Sena MLAs and the majority of party legislators want Thackeray to join hands with the BJP. Read more
The number of Shiv Sena MLAs who have supported Eknath Shinde has now reached around 40 from 11 when the revolt began. These include all five from western Maharashtra. The move by the rebel MLAs is mostly due to fear among Sena legislators of losing hold in their respective assembly constituencies to the NCP and the Congress, sources said.
The legislators to have moved to the rebel camp are Anil Babar from Khanapur in Sangli, Prakashrao Abitkar from Radhanagari in Kolhapur, Shambhuraje Desai from Patan in Satara, Mahesh Shinde of Koregaon in Satara, and Shahaji Patil from Sangola. Read more
Four MLAs - Chandrakant Patil, Yogesh Kadam, Manjula Gavit and Gulabrao Patil - arrived in Guwahati on Wednesday night and joined Eknath Shinde's camp.While Manjula Gavit and Chandrakant Patil are Independent MLAs, Yogesh Kadam and Gulabrao Patil are Shiv Sena legislators.
As the Maharashtra political crisis continues to play out, with the Shiv Sena headed for a split and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray possibly losing majority, the Governor’s powers under the Constitution to call for a floor test takes centrestage. Article 174(2)(b) of the Constitution gives powers to the Governor to dissolve the Assembly on the aid and advice of the cabinet. However, the Governor can apply his mind when the advice comes from a Chief Minister whose majority could be in doubt. Apurva Viswanath explains
Upset that the state Home ministry and Intelligence department did not alert the MVA leadership about rebel Shiv Sena MLAs leaving Maharashtra for a safe haven in BJP-ruled Gujarat, NCP chief Sharad Pawar is said to have conveyed his “serious displeasure” to state Home Minister Dilip Walse-Patil, who is from the NCP, and state party chief Jayant Patil. Incidentally, one of the rebel MLAs is MoS (Home) Shambhuraj Desai. Read more
Apart from the growing dissatisfaction over Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s leadership, a key strand in the political drama that is playing out in Maharashtra is the years-long friendship cutting across party lines between Shiv Sena rebel leader Eknath Shinde and BJP’s former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Highly placed sources told The Indian Express that since 2015, the two have moved from being just Cabinet colleagues to close friends. So much so, the sources said, that “in 2019, had the Shiv Sena and BJP contested the assembly elections separately, Shinde would have been BJP’s candidate from Thane constituency.” Read more
A CHARTERED aircraft, three luxury buses, a nine-seater plane, a hotel about a kilometre from the airport — and at least 32 rebel MLAs from Maharashtra.
There were the key elements in play for most of Tuesday and the night that followed as the political crisis in the Shiv Sena and the MVA government in Maharashtra played out at Surat in BJP-ruled Gujarat where Sena Minister Eknath Shinde had housed his flock of rebel MLAs, including Independents. Sources told The Indian Express that the BJP’s pointsperson in Surat, Paresh Patel, “took charge of the situation” to ensure that the breakaway group of MLAs was flown out of Surat to Guwahati early on Wednesday morning as at least two MLAs had “tried to escape”. Read more
While Shiv Sena workers have made a name for themselves in implementing the will of their political bosses on the streets of Mumbai, the current crisis initiated by Eknath Shinde has caught many of the party’s street enforcers off guard, as they face off against their own partymen. One such instance took place on Tuesday night after reports that Minister of Water Supply and Sanitation Gulabrao Patil – who was not part of the initial groups of MLAs who went along with Shinde to Surat – had gone missing. Read more
Unlike in the past when Shiv Sena workers have hounded people who they suspected had turned against the party, the response of the cadre to Eknath Shinde’s rebellion remains rather muted on the streets of Maharashtra. On Wednesday, the second day after Shinde’s rebellion, the Sena cadre was lacking in its aggressive streak, which they had shown when the party suffered earlier splits brought about by Narayan Rane and Chhagan Bhujbal.
Even as some small demonstrations took place since the news of Shinde’s rebellion broke in Mumbai and some parts of the state in solidarity or to show support to the CM and party president Uddhav Thackeray, most Shiv Sainiks in Thane and Mumbai hoped for things to get sorted out as soon as possible and were wary of speaking against Shinde. Read more
The decision to fly out the rebel Shiv Sena and Independent MLAs from Surat to Guwahati, both in BJP-ruled states, was taken after it was learnt that at least two Sena MLAs were not on the same page as Shinde — and that Surat was “too close to Maharashtra”, which might lead to the revolt failing, sources told The Indian Express. Surat was initially considered a “safe” place, given that it is home to the influential Gujarat BJP chief C R Patil. And yet, it was Patil aide and Surat Municipal Corporation standing committee chairman Paresh Patel, who managed the evacuation of MLAs to Guwahati. Read more
Ajay Choudhari, who was on Tuesday appointed the Shiv Sena Legislature Party leader by Uddhav Thackeray, said that 19 MLAs attended the meeting with the chief minister at his official bungalow Varsha Wednesday evening. “We have the support of 22 MLAs and 19 of them attended the meeting with the CM. We will all stay at St Regis hotel on Wednesday night and on Thursday, everyone will be allowed to go home.” He claimed that nearly 500 Shiv Sainiks are guarding the hotel. Read more
With the Maha Vikas Aghadi government reeling under a major political crisis, Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray addressed a press conference, saying the Shiv Sena and the Hindutva can never be separated. “I may be the first person to talk about Hindutva in the Vidhan Sabha. Even then, some people are of the opinion that this is not Balsaheb’s Shiv Sena,” he said on Wedesday evening. Here are all what the chief minister said
The unfolding political crisis in Maharashtra has thrown the spotlight on the anti-defection law, and the roles of the Deputy Speaker and the Governor. On Wednesday (June 22), the ruling Shiv Sena called a meeting of all its MLAs in Mumbai. Some of its legislators have aligned themselves with the party’s rebel leader Eknath Shinde and are camping in Guwahati. The party has warned its MLAs that their absence from the meeting would lead to the presumption they wanted to leave the political party. And this would therefore lead to action against them under the anti-defection law. Chaksu Roy explains