Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday night vacated his official residence in south Mumbai and moved to family home in suburban Bandra, hours after offering to quit the top post amid rebellion by Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde.
The CM moved out of 'Varsha', his official residence, for Matoshree, the private bungalow of the Thackeray family, amid high drama as the political crisis that has rocked his government after Shinde's revolt two days ago, showed no signs of ebbing.
Shiv Sena leaders like Neelam Gorhe and Chandrakant Khaire were present at 'Varsha' when Thackeray was leaving the official residence.
Party workers raised slogans and showered petals on the CM as he left his official house along with his family members -- wife Rashmi Thackeray, sons Aaditya, who is a Cabinet minister, and Tejas Thackeray at around 9:50 pm.
He reached outside Matoshree at around 10:30 pm. However, it took another 40 minutes for the CM to cover a short distance from outside Matoshree to his residence. Hundreds of Shiv Sainiks stationed themselves from Malabar Hill, where Varsha is located, to Matoshree in Bandra's Kalanagar.
Carrying placards and party flags, workers raised slogan of 'Uddhav Thackeray Zindabad' as some of them fought back tears. Thackeray stepped out of his car at Worli, the Assembly constituency of his son and Tourism minister Aaditya Thackeray, and again near Matoshree and waived at Sena workers.
Prior to leaving Varsha, Thackeray also met MLAs and MPs. Earlier, bags containing his personal belongings were seen being loaded in cars. During a 'Facebook Live' session in the evening, Thackeray had said he will be leaving 'Varsha' and residing at 'Matoshree'.
Thackeray, who also heads the Shiv Sena, had moved to 'Varsha' after becoming the chief minister in November 2019.
The NCP and the Congress are also part of the MVA.
Rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde on Wednesday said the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra was an "unnatural alliance" and it was imperative for his party to walk out of the coalition with the NCP and the Congress for its own sake and that of party workers.
Shinde's reaction came hours after Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray reached out to the rebels, saying he would quit his post if even one Sena MLA comes and tells him on his face that he was incompetent.
The Sena strongman, a Cabinet minister, said the MVA, formed in November 2019, was beneficial only to alliance partners the Congress and the NCP, while ordinary Shiv Sainiks have suffered the most in the last two-and-a-half years of the coalition's existence.
"It is necessary to quit the unnatural alliance for the sake of Shiv Sainiks and the Shiv Sena. It is important to take a decision in the interest of the state," Shinde, who is camping in Guwahati along with rebel Sena MLAs, tweeted.
His tweets were in Marathi with #Hindutvaforever. Shinde maintained that while the NCP and the Congress were growing stronger in the MVA alliance, the Shiv Sena, which heads the governing bloc, and its workers were getting systematically weakened.
Claiming to haveover 40 MLAs in his fold, Shinde is sticking to his stand that while he still remains a Sena man, his party must align with the BJP and form government. The Sena has 55 members in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray finally broke his silence on the happenings and said he was ready to quit his post if the rebel MLAs tell him that they don't want him to continue as CM.
However, Shiv Sena's chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut asserted Thackeray will not resign following the rebellion by a section of party MLAs, and maintained the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will prove its majority in the Assembly if required.
What developments will Wednesday bring? Follow our live coverage to find out:
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Praising Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray for the way he spoke during his live webcast on Wednesday that came amid the ongoing political crisis in the state, AIMIM leader Imtiaz Jaleel said his "politeness" was a "tight slap" to the dissenters within the Shiv Sena.
Another chartered plane with four MLAs from Maharashtra arrived here on Wednesday to join the rebel Shiv Sena legislators who reached the city earlier in the day, sources said.
The four MLAs -- Chandrakant Patil, Yogesh Kadam, Manjula Gavit and Gulabrao Patil -- arrived in the evening from Surat in Gujarat like the legislators who came here along with Maharashtra minister Eknath Shinde in the morning.
Four more Maharashtra MLAs arrived in Guwahati in a chartered flight, the sources said. They were taken to a city hotel where the other MLAs are camping. While Gavit and Chandrakant Patil are Independent MLAs, Kadam and Gulabrao Patil are Shiv Sena legislators.
Rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde on Wednesday said the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra was an "unnatural alliance" and it was imperative for his party to walk out of the coalition with the NCP and the Congress for its own sake and that of party workers.
Police stepped up security at the residences of Shiv Sena ministers Abdul Sattar and Sandipan Bhumre in Maharashtra's Aurangabad city who are camping with their party colleague and rebel leader Eknath Shinde in Guwahati, in view of a protest held on Wednesday.
The MLA from the Sillod constituency, Abdul Sattar, is a Minister of State for Revenue in the Uddhav Thackeray-led government. Bhumre, the MLA from the Paithan constituency, holds the EGS portfolio.
Despite being a party of committed cadres with unflinching loyalty to leadership of the day, the Shiv Sena has been vulnerable to rebellions in its ranks and it has seen revolts by prominent figures on four occasions, three of them under the watch of its charismatic founder Bal Thackeray, with Eknath Shinde becoming the latest leader to join the list. READ FULL STORY HERE
They have arrived at Varsha bungalow to meet Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray.
A recently released Marathi movie Dharmaveer: Mukkam Post Thane played host to a happening that many are now commenting upon after the Uddhav Thackeray-Eknath Shinde standoff in Maharashtra. Both Uddhav and Shinde had come for the screening of the movie based on the life of the late Shiv Sena leader Anand Dighe. READ STORY HERE.
In a 17-minute-long webcast, Thackeray who tested positive for Covid-19 earlier in the day, said he would be happy to see a Shiv Sainik as his successor on the CM's post, adding he took up the post despite his inexperience after a suggestion from NCP chief Sharad Pawar.
"Why make statements from Surat and other places? Come and tell me to my face that I am incompetent to handle the posts of chief minister and Shiv Sena president. I will resign immediately. I will keep my resignation letter ready and you can come and take it to Raj Bhavan," Thackeray said.
Hours after Shinde and the group of MLAs were shifted to Assam, Manjula Gavit, an independent MLA who represents the Sakri assembly constituency, and Yogesh Kadam, who is Sena's legislator from Dapoli assembly segment in Maharashtra, arrived in Surat this afternoon. (READ FULL STORY HERE)
Hours after a group of Maharashtra MLAs led by dissident Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde reached Assam and were put up in a luxury hotel, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday said that he welcomes all to visit Assam as the state needs revenue to deal with the devastating flood. (READ FULL STORY HERE)
Shiv Sena Legislature Party resolution carrying signatures of 34 MLAs stating that Eknath Shinde remains as leader of Shiv Sena Legislature Party has been sent to Governor.
Two Shiv Sena MLAs Nitin Deshmukh and Kailash Patil 'escaped' from Eknath Shinde's camp in Surat and reached Maharashtra to extend support to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. It is not known whether Shinde camp's subsequent shift to Guwahati followed this development. (READ FULL STORY HERE)
"Pawar Sahib said that NCP is standing with MVA. All party MLAs will have a meeting once again tomorrow, Pawar sahib will give some instructions. What will happen next will depend on that," says Amol Mitkari, NCP MLC.
"There was no point in holding political discussions because the situation is completely under control. CM (who joined via VC) had a smile on his face. You can understand he's not tensed, so the government is not tensed either," Maharashtra Minister and Congress leader Nitin Raut after cabinet meet.
'Kaziranga is a good place to visit. The area is also receiving good rainfall. Those who want to see nature can go there': Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut when asked about Maharashtra MLAs camping in Guwahati, Assam.
Shiv Sena's Chief Whip, Sunil Prabhu issues a letter to all party MLAs, asking them to be present in an important meeting that will be held today evening. The letter states that if someone remains absent, it'll be considered that the said MLA has decided to quit the party voluntarily. It also warns that if someone remains absent from the meeting without proper reason and prior information, they should keep in mind that action will be initiated to cancel their membership as per constitutional provisions.
"Right now we have 46 MLAs with us, including six-seven Independent MLAs. Rest of them are Shiv Sena MLAs. This number will rise in the time to come. As of now we have neither received any proposal from BJP nor are we holding any talks with them. As far as current political situation is concerned, I'd say that we are Balasaheb Thackeray's Shiv Sainiks and will continue to be Shiv Sainiks. As of now, we are not holding any talks with Shiv Sena or CM. We have not decided on the future course of action," says the senior Sena leader.
"Those in power are targeting the dissidents. It is clearly a politically motivated move. It is not just about Mrs Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi, but the entire Opposition. The Congress leadership is being targeted because they have been vocal against BJP. They come and attack through the agencies:- the Income Tax, CBI, ED. It is common knowledge that they have become tools of the party in power," the Congress leader said.
State cabinet meeting begins. CM Uddhav Thackeray joins via video conferencing. Meanwhile, Congress leader Kamal Nath said, "I have talked to CM Uddhav Thackeray and he said that as of now there's no proposal to dissolve the Maharashtra Assembly."
Shiv Sena leader and Maharasthra Minister Anil Parab to appear before ED today after the state cabinet meeting. He was summoned by the agency today and was scheduled to appear before them at 11 am.
"41 MLAs out of 44 MLAs attended the meeting here while three are on the way. The politics BJP has started is of money and muscle power which is against the constitution. I have seen this a lot...Unity will prevail in Shiv Sena under Udhhav Thackeray," the senior Congress leader said in Mumbai.
"Democracy is diminishing in country in name of Hindutva, people aren't understanding now but they'll regret later. These people (BJP) are doing horse-trading & bringing down the governments while law and order situation remains fragile and economy weakens. They've made a joke of everything. They were hatching conspiracy and were targetting Maharashtra from the very beginning but now it has come to light. PM Modi and Amit Shah should not be arrogant and must run the country as per the constitution," the senior Congress leader and Rajasthan CM said.
A meeting of the Congress Legislature Party is scheduled to be held in the presence of All India Congress Committees observer Kamal Nath amid the deepening political crisis in Maharashtra.
Nath, who was on Tuesday appointed as the AICC observer in Maharashtra in the wake of the political turmoil in the state, and NCP chief Sharad Pawar are expected to meet Chief Minister and Sena president Uddhav Thackeray around noon. (READ FULL STORY HERE)
Forty Maharashtra MLAs including 33 Shiv Sena and seven independent MLAs exhorted their support to rebel Shiv Sena leader and state Cabinet Minister Eknath Shinde by signing a letter, said news agency ANI citing sources. Sources further said the rebel legislators may write to Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari seeking for floor test in the state Legislative Assembly.
Congress Observer for Maharashtra, Kamal Nath arrives at the residence of CLP leader and minister Balasaheb Thorat.
Sarnaik, the MLA from Thane's Ovala-Majiwada constituency, has been facing a probe by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case. (READ FULL STORY HERE)
Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari was on Wednesday admitted to a private hospital in south Mumbai after testing Coronavirus positive, an official said. Koshyari (80), who was always seen wearing face masks at public events, has been admitted to the Reliance Foundation Hospital, the official said.
Amid the political turmoil in Maharashtra, CM Thackeray has called a State Cabinet meeting at 1 pm amid speculations that Eknath Shinde along with other MLAs might join BJP in a bid to topple the MVA government.
"We do not have any complaints against the Shiv Sena leadership. We have raised our complaints with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, that it was getting difficult to work with the NCP and Congress ministers," said Maharashtra minister Sandipan Bhumare, who is among the dissidents."
"It was very difficult for us to get our proposals and work requests approved from their ministers. To a query, Bhumare said he was given a cabinet portfolio and was satisfied with it," he added (READ MORE)
Eknath Shinde, the leader of the rebellion in the ruling Shiv Sena, on Wednesday claimed that he has 40 MLAs with him. "Here 40 MLAs are with me. Additional 10 MLAs will join me soon. I do not want to criticise anyone. We are keen on continuing the Sena founded by late Balasaheb Thackeray," he said after landing in Guwahati from Surat. (READ MORE)
Nearly 40 rebel MLAs of Shiv Sena along with their leader Eknath Shinde have left their hotel here and are now being flown to Guwahati in Assam, sources said.
Maharashtra rebel minister Eknath Shinde along with nearly 30 rebel Shiv Sena MLAs were staying at a hotel on Dumas road in Surat city of Gujarat upon their arrival here on Monday night.
Now, due to some undisclosed reasons, they are being shifted to Guwahati in Assam by air.
It has been learnt that the rebel Shiv Sena MLAs camping in Surat will be flown to Guwahati at midnight. As per sources, the rebel MLAs, number between thirty to forty.
A senior BJP leader from Maharashtra on Tuesday evening said his party was exploring the possibility of government formation in the state, amid a crisis in the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi due to the rebellion of Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde while party leaders held a series of meetings to firm up a strategy.
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut claimed Eknath Shinde was pressured to go against the Uddhav Thackeray-led party and also alleged that at least two MLAs accompanying the minister in Surat were beaten up by the police and goons, and that one of them, Nitin Deshmukh had even suffered a heart attack.
Nitin Deshmukh is the Shiv Sena MLA from Balapur in Akola district. His wife Pranjali Deshmukh filed a complaint at the Civil Lines police station in Akola, stating that her husband was not reachable since June 20 night. - PTI
When Uddhav-deputed leaders Milind Narvekar and Ravindra Phatak met Shinde at the Surat hotel, they arranged for a phone call between him and Uddhav. While Shinde spoke with the Chief Minister and his spouse Rashmi Thackeray over phone, he reportedly did not promise to return to the party. Shinde also demanded that the Shiv Sena should break the alliance with Congress and NCP and form new government with the BJP under the leadership of Devendra Fadnavis. Shinde reportedly said he is ready to give up his ministry, too.
Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde, who is at the centre of the current political turmoil in Maharashtra, had humble beginnings and rose to become a top member of the party, in the process acquiring formidable organizational skills and a wide mass base.
Amid the political crisis in Maharashtra's ruling alliance triggered by Shiv Sena strongman Eknath Shinde's rebellion, leaders of MVA constituents Congress and the NCP met Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray here on Tuesday evening to take stock of the situation.
Union minister and BJP leader Narayan Rane demands the resignation of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray alleging that he lacked the support of sufficient MLAs in the Assembly.
All 44 Congress MLAs are in touch with Legislature Party leader and state revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat. The party also refuted reports that Thorat had quit as CLP leader terming them "mischievous and false". - PTI
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"From the very beginning when MVA was formed, there was no principle, no ideology, no thinking, no course of action, but they came together only for the hunger to grab power and chair. The rift seen today has existed since MVA was formed," Union minister and senior BJP leader Scindia told reporters in Gwalior today. - PTI
Two leaders of Shiv Sena dispatched by Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray met and held a detailed discussion with rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde and other MLAs at a hotel in Surat on Tuesday to defuse the internecine crisis having the potential to threaten the survival of the MVA government in the neighbouring state.
Mumbai police has deployed a large number of personnel at the party's headquarters in Dadar area.
6 pm:
NCP chief Sharad Pawar, who played a crucial role in the formation of the MVA government, said it will complete its full five-year term and ruled out going with the BJP, in case the state government falls.
"There are no differences in the alliance and all have full confidence in the leadership of Thackeray. This is not an internal issue of the NCP. It is an internal issue of Shiv Sena, they (Sena) will inform us after assessing the situation", he told reporters. Pawar is leaving for Mumbai to meet Thackeray.
As Maharashtra's ruling coalition battles for survival in Mumbai, some 280km away in Surat in BJP-ruled Gujarat, luxury hotel Le Meridien has become the focus of attention. 300 to 400 policemen have taken positions inside and outside the hotel premises and put barricades on both entry and exit points to prevent any "unauthorised" person from entering.
The Bharatiya Janata Party is all set to fly its 106 Maharashtra MLAs to Gujarat on a chartered flight, to be housed in a resort near Ahmedabad. - IANS
Uddhav Thackeray has deputed two senior leaders Ravindra Phatak and Milind Narvekar to Surat to meet Eknath Shinde and other MLAs at the Le Meridien hotel, in an attempt to sort their grievances.
Maharashtra BJP president Chandrakant Patil said BJP MLA Sanjay Kute from Maharashtra had met Eknath Shinde at the hotel but said that was in Kute's personal capacity, even as he distanced his party from the ongoing political turmoil.
3:45 pm - "The Congress president has deputed Kamal Nath as All India Congress Committee (AICC) observer in the wake of recent political developments in the state, with immediate effect," said an official communication from the Congress.
The Congress shares power with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Shiv Sena in the MVA government in Maharashtra.
“Patil has been in touch with Shinde for a long time to carry out 'Operation Lotus' in Maharashtra. Patil who hails from Jalgaon is in touch with some of the Sena MLAs as well. These MLAs include Chimanrao Patil from Parola, and Kishor Patil from Pachora, who belong to the Maratha community. This link helped Patil to connect with Shinde and other disgruntled MLAs of Sena.” said a source who requested anonymity. READ full report here.
3 pm - Eknath Shinde has been removed as the party's group leader in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. He has been replaced with MLA Ajay Choudhury, Raut told reporters. - PTI
2:30 pm - "We are staunch Shiv Sainiks of Balasaheb who gave us lessons on Hindutva. We will never cheat for power and will never abandon the teachings of Balasaheb and Anand Dighe for power," Shinde tweeted in Marathi, his first reaction on the ongoing political crisis triggered by him in the state. The late Dighe, a Shiv Sena stalwart from Thane, was the political mentor of Shinde.
"Eknath Shinde is not in Mumbai, but communication has been established with him," party MP Sanjay Raut said. He did not elaborate on the number of MLAs who have gone incommunicado along with Shinde.
Top Shiv Sena leader Shinde along with some Shiv Sena MLAs had gone incommunicado, a party leader said earlier today, a day after the ruling Maha Vikas Agahdi (MVA-comprising the Sena, NCP and Congress) suffered a setback in the Maharashtra Legislative Council polls by losing one out of the six seats it contested.