Two and a half years after surviving the uprising by Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar, the tripartite government of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra is staring at an identical crisis. Senior Minister and leader of Shiv Sena, Eknath Shinde, has revolted against Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, demanding that the party cut ties with the MVA and reunite with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Eknath Shinde wants Shiv Sena to cut a relationship with the MVA and rejoin the BJP.
Hours after the BJP trumped the MVA in the Maharashtra Legislative Council polls on Monday night, Mr. Shinde, the state’s urban development minister and the party leader of the Shiv Sena, left Mumbai along with a group of MLAs for Surat in Gujarat. The Sena quickly removed him from his post as leader of the legislative party and appointed Ajay Chaudhari, an MLA from the Sewri area of Mumbai to the position.
Mr. Shinde, with whom Shiv Sena leaders Milind Narvekar and Ravindpositionpositionpositionhatak met at a hotel in Surat, has reportedly asked the Sena leadership to rejoin the BJP. Mr. Thackeray had a telephone conversation with Mr. Shinde during that meeting. According to sources within the Sena, the rebel minister has asked Mr. Thackeray not to proceed with the MVA and instead form the government with the BJP.
Leaders of two other MVA members, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress, met with Mr. Thackeray on Tuesday evening. Both sides have chosen to follow a “wait and watch” strategy, clarifying that Mr. Shinde’s move was an internal matter of the Shiv Sena. At a news conference in Delhi, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said tuch attempts to dethrone the MVA had been made. “This is the Sena’s internal business. We are together as MVA,” as. Mr. Pawar added that cross-voting in the Council poll did not endanger the government.
Congress, which also witnessed cross-votes in Council polls, has decided to bring all its 44 MLAs to Mumbai. The party has sent senior leader Kamal Nath to Mumbai as an observer in the wake of Mr. Shinde’s uprising. The responsible party of the All India Congress Committee, HK Patil, said the state government would not be in any danger. The Maharashtra Congress refuted the claim that Congressional MLAs were also unreachable and said all MLAs of the party had been contacted. In his group, Mr. Shinde and Shiv Sena MLAs reached Surat late Monday night. The Shinde camp claims it supports 34 MLAs. Refuting this, Sena sources claimed that the meeting hosted by Mr. Thackeray at his official residence ‘Varsha’ had convened to counter the uprising and witnessed 34 MLAs.
After landing in Surat and observing the silence, Mr. Shinde Tuesday afternoon, in memory of the late Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray and his [Mr. Shinde’s] mentor, the late Anand Dighe. “We are loyal Shiv Sainiks of Balasaheb. Balasaheb taught us Hindutva. We will never betray the thoughts of Balasaheb and the teachings of Dharmaveer Anand Dighe for the sake of power,” tweeted. Ed Mr. Shinde, hinting at his impact on the BJP. Mr. Shinde’s move has put the stability of the Mat at ahe VA government under the scanner. The BJP’s performance in Council polls hhasshown it has the support of 134 MLAs. The majority figure in the Maharashtra assembly is 145. Sena leader Sanjay Raut said “Operation Lotus” would not be as successful in Maharashtra as in Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. “All of our MLAs will return. They have stayed with the party through bad times. Even now, they stay with us. Some of them were threatened [in order] to go there. We are confident they will return,” said Mr Raut.
MLAs shifted to Guwahati.
More than 15 Maharashtra lawmakers who …checked into a swanky hotel in Surat late Monday night are reportedly being relocated to Guwahati in Assam. According to sources, the lawmakers will be taken to Guwahati by chartered plane from Surat. A BJP lawmaker, reportedly camping at the hotel along with Shiv Sena rebel MLAs, is said to escort them to BJP-ruled Assam. “From the hotel, MLAs are taken to the airport by a special bus and from there to Guwahati in a chartered plane,” a source from Surat told The Hindu. The reason for shifting the legislators is to make sure they stay limited. According to sources, a few MLAs had reportedly tried to flee from the Surat hotel. Still, police officers deployed in the vicinity did not allow them to leave the property.
