Maharashtra: 13 MLAs at Thackeray meet, rebel rank swell to 42. 10 points
2 min read . Updated: 23 Jun 2022, 02:36 PM IST
PremiumShiv Sena has asserted that Uddhav Thackeray will not resign in the wake of rebellion by Eknath Shinde, who is camping with rebel MLAs in Guwahati
The political turmoil in Maharashtra seems far from over, as rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde has managed to garner the support of 42 MLAs from the state.
On the other hand, only 13 MLAs, including Uddhav Thackeray's son Aaditya Thackeray, have shown their support for the CM by attending a meeting called by him.
The MLAs who were present at CM Thackeray's meeting are – Uday Samant, Sunil Prabhu, Ravindra Waikar, Sunil Raut, Aaditya Thackrey, Dilip Landey, Kailash Patil, Nitin Deshmukh, Rajan Salvi, Santosh Banger, Uday Rajput, Vaibhav Naik, Ajay Chohdhari.
Catch the latest updates on the Maharashtra political crisis:
- Rebel Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Shirsat has written a letter to the Maharashtra CM, claiming that Eknath Shinde took the step of going against the party leadership as Sena MLAs, who faced "humiliation" for the last two-and-a-half years, persuaded him to do so.
- He said that despite Shiv Sena having its own chief minister, the coterie around Thackeray never allowed them access to 'Varsha', the CM's official residence. Shinde is currently camping with some rebel MLAs in Assam's Guwahati city.
- Meanwhile, Maharashtra Legislative Assembly's Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal on Thursday said he has approved the appointment of Ajay Choudhary as the Shiv Sena's group leader in the House, replacing Eknath Shinde.
- The Shiv Sena on Tuesday removed Shinde as the party's group leader in the Assembly, hours after he revolted and travelled to Surat in Gujarat with some Shiv Sena MLAs.
- Shinde had on Wednesday given a letter to the Assembly's deputy speaker, signed by 35 Sena MLAs, replacing Sunil Prabhu with Bharat Gogavale as the chief whip of the Shiv Sena legislature party.
- Sena leader Sanjay Raut has claimed that they are in touch with 21 MLAs from the Eknath Shinde camp in Guwahati. “Twenty-one MLAs in Guwahati have contacted us and when they return to Mumbai, they will be with us," he said.
- Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday held a party meeting amid political instability in the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.
- A total of 42 Maharashtra MLAs are present with Eknath Shinde at Radisson Blu Hotel in Guwahati, Assam. This includes 34 MLAs from Shiv Sena and eight Independent MLAs.
- A resolution passed by the Shiv Sena Legislature Party carrying signatures of 34 MLAs that rebel leader Eknath Shinde continues to be the leader, has been sent to the state Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.
- Uddhav Thackeray left his official residence 'Varsha' along with his family members on Wednesday hours after he expressed his readiness to step down if rebel MLAs returned to Mumbai and made such a demand.
