Uddhav Thackeray meets Sharad Pawar, calls Sena’s national executive meet tomorrow

Mangalore Today News Network

Mumbai, June 24, 2022: As the Maharashtra political crisis continues to drag on, Shiv Sena’s rebel MLA Eknath Shinde on Friday claimed to have the support of two-thirds of the party’s MLAs. But the NCP and the Congress are still backing Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray despite the dwindling numbers.

 

Police authorities have issued an alert across the state as Shiv Sena supporters are likely to stage angry protests following Shinde’s rebellion. Majority of Sena MLAs have shifted their loyalty to Shinde and are camping in Guwahati, plunging the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government into a crisis.

Here are the top developments of the day

1) On Friday, Eknath Shinde took a u-turn and denied the involvement of any "big national party" in the rebellion. When I said a big power is backing us, I meant the power of Balasaheb Thackeray and [late Sena leader] Anand Dighe, he said, adding that numbers are in his favour and the rebel camp will meet the Governor soon.

2) Reacting to Shinde, Uddhav Thackeray said he has the will to fight the rebellion and alleged that rebel MLAs were lured to the other side by greed.

"He [Shinde] was made a minister twice after Balasaheb Thackeray’s death (in 2012). Twice we were in power (after 2012). He was given the departments which are normally kept by the chief minister himself. You should keep Thackeray name out of your politics and see if you can survive," Uddhav Thackeray said, hitting out at Shinde.

He called for a meeting on Saturday at 1 pm of All Sena National Executives in Sena Bhavan, Mumbai as the crisis continues.

3) Uddhav Thackeray met NCP chief Sharad Pawar to review the numbers as several MLAs joined the rebel camp today. According to sources, senior NCP leaders believe that dragging the matter further would only embarrass the MVA government in case of a floor test.

4) As the numbers game heated up, Uddhav Thackeray’s camp moved a plea seeking removal of 16 Sena MLAs. But several independent MLAs opposed this move. Amid all this, Deputy Speaker of Maharashtra Assembly Narhari Zirwal approved Shiv Sena’s proposal to appoint MLA Ajay Chaudhary as the legislature party leader. Shide was removed from the same post after the rebellion.

5) Following this, two independent MLAs and Shinde demanded the removal of NCP’s Narhari Zirwal, accusing him of being biased towards the Uddhav camp.

6) The BJP has distanced itself from the turmoil, stating the party has nothing to do with the ongoing political developments in the Shiv Sena and the state. Union minister Piyush Goyal said the MVA alliance is unholy, totally corrupt and was bound to collapse.

7) The Sainiks have also taken to the streets against the rebel MLAs. In Mumbai, Sena workers tried to smash a board outside Kurla MLA Mangesh Kudalkar’s office. Workers also blackened a hoarding put up in support of Shinde in Ambedkar Nagar area of Nashik.

8) So how do the numbers stack up? Shinde, who claimed that his group was the real Shiv Sena, has the support of over 40 MLAs. The total strength of the Maharashtra Assembly is 287 and the majority, in the event of a trust vote, is 144. The ruling coalition of Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress has 169 seats. If the MLAs led by Shinde do resign, then the Maha Vikas Aghadi’s (MVA) strength will fall below the majority mark, leading to the possible collapse of Uddhav Thackeray-led government.

9) The current political crisis was triggered by Eknath Shinde, who, along with several MLAs, went incommunicado after the MLC poll results. The rebel MLAs led by Shinde reached a hotel in Surat on late Monday night, hours after the polls which saw the BJP winning a fifth seat despite not having enough numbers in the Assembly. More MLAs have since joined the rebel camp who are currently in Assam’s Guwahati.

Courtesy: India Today