As Maharashtra Chief Minister faces a revolt from his own MLAs, there is a serious question mark on the stability of his government.
The rebellion of Eknath Shinde, a strong Shiv Sena leader and once close to Balasaheb Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray, has put a question mark on the fate of the coalition government in the state. But the BJP, which is being blamed by the Shiv Sena leaders for this crisis, is still in wait and watch mode.
BJP leaders are closely monitoring the developments in Maharashtra. Along with the number of MLAs with Eknath Shinde and their future strategy, the BJP is also waiting to know the stand of Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari. Though the governor has been admitted to hospital as he has tested positive for the Coronavirus.
BJP says this is an internal matter of Shiv Sena. Talking to IANS, a senior BJP leader said, "For the sake of power, Shiv Sena formed the government in alliance with Congress and the NCP by leaving the path of Hindutva, insulting the mandate and betraying us (BJP). This immoral and unusual alliance had to be broken. It is the failure of Uddhav Thackeray that he could not even handle his party."
The BJP, which once burnt its fingers in the Ajit Pawar episode, is in no mood to be in a hurry. That's why the command of the entire tussle is still in the hands of Shiv Sena's rebel minister Eknath Shinde.
Shinde, along with other rebel Sena MLAs, is now in another BJP-ruled state of Assam. They landed in Guwahati on Wednesday morning from Surat. Shinde has claimed that 40 out of 55 MLAs of the party are with him. He has also claimed the support of seven Independent MLAs.
During the phone conversation with Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday, Shinde put several conditions for returning back to the party fold. So far he has not got the answers. Till then the BJP is keeping a close watch on the entire development from behind the scenes.
BJP MLA accompanying Shinde: minister
A minister from Maharashtra accompanying Shiv Sena rebel Eknath Shinde and others on Wednesday claimed a BJP MLA has been staying with them in Guwahati.
The minister of state for water resources and Prahar Janshakti Paksh leader, Bacchu Kadu, told a news channel over the phone that BJP MLA Sanjay Kute is staying with the rebel MLAs of Shiv Sena and Shinde.
"BJP's Sanjay Kute is with us. He is accompanying all the rebel MLAs of Shiv Sena and some Independents in Guwahati," he said.
A day earlier, Kute had met Shinde and other rebel MLAs in a Surat hotel where they were staying after sneaking out of Mumbai.
Senior Sena leader and state cabinet minister Shinde along with a group of rebel Shiv Sena MLAs were flown to Guwahati from Surat in the early hours of Wednesday.
The Shiv Sena legislators have rebelled against the party bringing a crisis to the MVA government in Maharashtra.
“We are committed to Balasaheb Thackeray's ideology of 'Hindutva' and we want to take it forward," Shinde said.
The rebel MLAs from Maharashtra were received at Guwahati's Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi international airport by BJP MP from Assam Pallab Lochan Das and legislator Sushanta Borgohain.
The Shiv Sena, which heads the MVA, has 55 MLAs, followed by allies the NCP (53) and the Congress (44) in the 288-member assembly where the current simple majority mark is 144.
