Maharashtra Political Crisis: Eknath Shinde's hold on the rebel faction strengthens

The 34 Shiv Sena MLAs who are members of the breakaway section and are staying in a hotel in Guwahati, Assam, have issued a resolution naming Eknath Shinde as the Shiv Sena Legislature party's head. According to the resolution, "there is significant unhappiness amongst the party's cadre, particularly after Shiv Sena for establishing the government with NCP and Congress, who are fundamentally opposed to our party."

 

The resolution stated, "Bharat Gogawale has been appointed as the top whip of the Shiv Sena Legislative Party." "So, Sunil Prabhu's order about the Legislative Party meeting this evening is illegal," Shinde tweeted. Water supply minister Gulabrao Patil, together with two independent legislators, Manjula Gavit and Chandrakant Patil and Yogesh Kadam, son of legendary Shiv Sena leader Ramdas Kadam, met and joined Shinde late Wednesday evening.

 

Shinde's move came after the Shiv Sena warned its MLAs to attend a meeting at Uddhav Thackeray's official residence Varsha at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, amid the state's political crisis. "If you do not attend the meeting, it will be assumed that you intend to leave the party membership and, as a result, the action of disqualification will be begun against you in accordance with the norms of legislation," chief whip Sunil Prabhu stated in a letter.

 

"We have around 46 MLAs with us," Shinde remarked. Shiv Sena is one of the other MLAs. This figure is expected to rise. "There are no conditions," he stated. Shinde stated that MLA Nitin Deshmukh's claim of using force, which resulted in his hospitalisation, is incorrect. "Would our people have gone to release him if we had used force?" he wondered.

 

"Hindutva is very essential to us." "The MLAs supporting me are Hindutva loyalists who will never compromise with Hindutva to gain power," Shinde stated. "We have more numbers than we need," he said. We have not abandoned Shiv Sena and will not abandon it. Shinde stated that the legislators in Guwahati are following the Hindutva ideas espoused by Balasaheb Thackeray and Anand Dighe. "We are all devoted Shiv Sainiks to Balasaheb." We have not quit the Shiv Sena and will not do so in the future.

 

 

Image Courtesy: Twitter @mieknathshinde