After the Bharatiya Janata party trumped the MVA government in Legislative Council polls, the state government’s stability has been put at risk as senior Sena minister Eknath Shinde reportedly left Mumbai along with his group of MLAs. Days after his uprising against Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and the tripartite Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, rebel leader Eknath Shinde on Thursday accepted that the entire operation is supported by a “national party”, without mentioning the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
On Thursday evening, the rebel group claimed it had sent another letter to the deputy chairman of the Maharashtra assembly, Narhari Zirwal, with the signatures of 42 MLAs claiming that Mr. Shinde was the leader of the Shiv Sena legislative party. On Wednesday, the rebel group had sent a letter with the signatures of 34 MLAs. The Rebellion of Mr. Shinde is the most significant in the group’s 56-year history as it threatens to bring down the party-led government in Maharashtra. At the same time, the other uprisings took place when it was out of power in the state.
The Maharashtra Council’s 10-seat polls resulted in a blood-curdling result, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) again beating the tripartite Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) – after the Rajya Sabha polls – by winning five of the ten seats. In what could be an alarming situation for the state government, three MLAs, each from Congress and Shiv Sena, voted together in a secret ballot held on Monday.
Here are the latest updates
2:54 pm
Amid MVA’s crisis of survival, Maharashtra govt. Wards led by Sena allies NCP, Cong. Issuing GRs for Sanction of Crores worth of Funds. Even as the Shiv Sena-led MVA dispensation is currently facing a survival crisis due to an uprising by Sena Minister Eknath Shinde, state departments — mostly controlled by the ruling allies NCP and Congress — have issued government orders to release funds. Thousands of dollars crores in the past four days for various development-related works.
Between June 20 and 23, the departments issued as many as 182 Government Resolutions (GRs); on June 17, they passed 107 such GRs. These orders can be seen on the official government website. Technically, these are called government resolutions or GRs, which are essentially approval orders authorizing the release of funds for development-related works. However, the opposition BJP called for the intervention of Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to curb the “rush of GRs” observed in recent days, which it termed as “suspicious”. – PTI
2:43 pm
Another Sena Leader Reaches Guwahati
Another Shiv Sena MLA Dilip Lande reached Guwahati on Friday. – Alok Deshpande
1.20 pm.
Vice Chairman Approves Ajay Chaudhary as New Party Leader in Legislature
Deputy Speaker of Maharashtra Assembly Approves Ajay Chaudhary as the New Leader of Shiv Sena Legislative Party. Eknath Shinde had objected to Chaudhary’s nomination. -Alok Deshpande
11:12 am
Sena’s Assembly numbers have fallen, but we’re confident Rebels support MVA in floor test: Raut.
In the wake of the uprising by Shiv Sena Minister Eknath Shinde, MP Sanjay Raut admitted on Friday that the party’s membership in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly has declined but expressed confidence that the rebel MLAs will support the Maha Vikas. Aghadi (MVA) combination will help during the floor test, saying that “numbers could change any time”.
He said the rebel MLAs would pass the real test of their loyalty to the party when they returned to Mumbai. -PTI
11:11 am
Maharashtra BJP President Says BJP Has No Role In What Happens In The State
BJP State President Chandrakant Patil on Shiv Sena Minister Eknath Shinde’s intra-party rebellion said, “BJP has no relation to what is happening in Maharashtra. We will continue with our routine work.” He added: “There are many national parties in the country. Only Mr. Shinde knows which one he’s referring to.” -Shoumojit Banerjee
10:24 am
We are real Shiv Sena; who are you trying to scare: party rebel Eknath Shinde on disqualification demand.
While the Shiv Sena faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is seeking membership cancellation of several rebel MLAs, Minister Eknath Shinde led the rebellion against the party, has claimed that the group led by him, the “real Shiv Sena”. And also hit back by saying he and his supporters would not be intimidated by the disqualification threats.
In a series of tweets posted late Thursday night, Mr. Shinde, who camps in Guwahati with 37 Sena lawmakers and ten independents, said that under the 10th schedule of the constitution, a party whip is being issued for the legislative process and not to attend a meeting. -PTI
