In the government led by Uddhav Thackeray Maharashtra Shinde and some MLAs of his party seem to have been camping in Surat a day after suspected cross-voting in the MLC polls, putting a question mark on the stability of the MVA system.
As Shinde has yet to clarify his stand, Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil denied any link of his party to the current political developments, but also said that if the BJP accepts Shinde’s proposal to form the government. “Definitely consider”.
Speaking in Delhi, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said attempts were being made to topple the Maharashtra government, which he said was happening for the third time. He also said that Uddhav Thackeray will handle the situation which is an internal matter of Shiv Sena.
In the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly, Shiv Sena has 55 MLAS, NCP (53), Congress (44), Bahujan Vikas Agahdi (three), Samajwadi Party, AIMIM and Prahar Janshakti Party two each. MNS, CPI-M, PWP, Swabhimani Paksha, Rashtriya Samaj Party, Jansurajya Shakti Party and Krantikari Shetkari Paksha have one MLA each.
There are 13 independent MLAs. The opposition BJP has 106 MLAs. Leaders of the NCP and Congress, other constituents of the MVA, however, said there was no threat to the stability of the state government.
As the Shiv Sena struggled to quell the unrest, party MP Sanjay Raut claimed to have established contact with Shinde, whom he described as a “Shiv Sainik loyal to Balasaheb Thackeray”.
Due to the sudden disappearance of Shinde and some party MLAs, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray called an urgent meeting with party MLAs and leaders at his official residence ‘Varsha’ in Mumbai.
The exact number of MLAs who camped with Shinde is not clear, but many Shiv Sena MLAs have been out of touch.
Senior NCP leader and state minister Chhagan Bhujbal told PTI that his party’s MLAs are intact. Bhujbal and state Congress leader Nana Patole denied any threat to the MVA government.
Congress minister Balasaheb Thorat said his party is closely watching the developments in Shiv Sena and has spoken to the chief minister.
He said that the meeting of MVA would be organized if needed. Thorat also said that all Congress MLAs have been asked to stay in Mumbai.
The development comes hours after the MVA suffered a setback in the Legislative Council elections, the results of which were announced on Monday night.
In the elections, the BJP won all the five seats it contested, although it had votes to win four candidates. Shiv Sena and NCP won two seats each.
The Congress suffered a setback when one of its two candidates lost. A Shiv Sena leader said that Shinde was present at the Vidhan Bhavan along with CM Thackeray till around 5 pm on Monday.
According to sources, Shinde and some other Shiv Sena MLAs are camping at a hotel in Gujarat’s Surat city.
The MLAs, reportedly unhappy with the Shiv Sena leadership, reached Surat on Monday night and are camping at Le Meridien Hotel, he said.
“Some of the Shiv Sena MLAs, including Maharashtra minister Eknath Shinde, are in Surat,” a source said. A large number of policemen have been deployed outside the hotel.
Later, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said that Shinde is not in Mumbai but communication has been established with him.
A Congress minister said Shinde was restless for the past one week and claimed that the Shiv Sena leader wanted the post of deputy chief minister. Shinde, a senior minister in the Shiv Sena government, has a lot of influence in the satellite cities of Mumbai.
Meanwhile, police have stepped up security outside his private residence in Thane. Raut blamed the BJP for the current political situation. He also said that BJP’s efforts to topple the MVA government like in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh will not succeed.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil told PTI, “BJP has nothing to do with the Shinde episode. However, if the BJP gets any proposal from Eknath Shinde to form the government, then we will definitely consider it seriously. After all, we have all worked together in the past, so it is better to work with them and run the government.”
Patil alleged that Sanjay Raut was responsible for the bad relations between Shiv Sena and BJP.
The BJP leader further claimed, “He (Raut) is also causing a lot of damage to the state… and he is doing it on behalf of someone.”
Shiv Sena severed ties with its long-time ally, the BJP, after the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections over the issue of sharing the chief minister’s post.
Later Shiv Sena formed an alliance with NCP and Congress to form the government in the state. Union Minister and BJP Rajya Sabha member Narayan Rane came out openly in support of Eknath Shinde.
Rane tweeted, “Well done Eknathji, you took the right decision at the right time. Otherwise soon you would be like Anand Dighe.” Dighe, a Shiv Sena leader from Thane, died in 2001.