While the BJP is said to be distancing themselves from Maharashtra minister's Eknath Shinde rebellion, terming it as internal matter of Shiv Sena, it has now been reported that Union Minister Amit Shah and state Opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis had a confidential meeting in Vadodara with Shinde late Friday night.
According to highly placed sources, Fadnavis was seen at Mumbai airport on Friday night taking a flight to Gujarat and it is believed that Shinde, who left Guwahati's Blue Radisson Hotel where all rebels are campled, had met Shah to discuss their further strategy and solve the crisis.
"The rebel camp wasn't expecting the party to disqualify them as MLAs for defacation, as they will be in trouble if the disqualifaction is a succes. The Assembly deputy speaker has also called them for an hearing to the disqualification notice and if all of them come together, then a solution can be brought opon to keep the flock together," said a source requesting anonymity.
"Even during Chagan Bhujbal's revolt against Shiv Sena, initially 18 MLAs had rebelled but in reality only 11 were left. Beside, when Narayan Rane left Shiv Sena, that time also same issue happen. Shinde is worried about repeating the same history and that will jeopardise both his political career and BJP's dream of coming back to power in Maharashtra," the source added.
He said that Shinde had asked the BJP to find out the solutions for this crisis. "It has been five days since the rebel MLAs are outside Maharashtra. Their restlessness is increasing due to insecurity and protests against them in their respective constituencies by Shiv Sainiks. If there is any delay in government formation, then things can slip out of their hand," he said.
"While such operations have to be carried out quickly, this is taking more time and it can damage to such an extent that the fight is likely to dragged to court and state assembly only. Therefore, Shinde asked for Shah and other leader's immediate intervention and hence, the Vadodara meeting was arranged," he added.
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Eknath Shinde loyalist Naresh Mhaske on Saturday resigned as the Thane district president of Shiv Sena in protest against the "attitude" of MVA constituent NCP but stressed he will always remain a Shivsainik.
In a letter addressed to Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, the former Thane mayor said Shivsainiks are feeling (politically) "suffocated" because of "Rashtravadi" (NCP) in the last two-and-a-half years.
Shiv Sena workers must understand that I want to free them and the party from the clutches of MVA govt and I have been struggling for the same, tweets rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde
Rebel Shiv Sena MLA Mahesh Shinde on Saturday claimed that the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is planning to "finish off" Shiv Sena. He claimed that NCP MLAs were getting more funds than the Shiv Sena legislators for development work in their constituencies.
Dissident Shiv Sena legislator Deepak Kesarkar in his virtual address from Guwahati said the rebel group enjoys a two-thirds majority in the legislature party and will prove its strength in the House but will not merge with any other political party. READ FULL STORY HERE
BREAKING: Deputy Speaker of Maharashtra Assembly issues disqualification notice to 16 rebel Shiv Sena MLAs of Eknath Shinde camp currently staying in Guwahati, Assam. Eknath Shinde is one of the 16.
They are expected to file their written replies by Monday, June 27.
A meeting of the Eknath Shinde group is underway at Radisson Blu Hotel in Guwahati, Assam. The next course of action is being discussed in the meeting.
The residents of Dare village in Maharashtra's Satara district, the native place of Eknath Shinde, who is at the centre of the ongoing political turmoil in Maharashtra, recall the Shiv Sena leader as a "people's man" and some of them feel that the decisions he had taken in the past later turned out to be right. READ STORY HERE
- The national executive meeting of the Shiv Sena is underway at the party's headquarters in the city on Saturday, where Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, who is also the party president, is expected to take a decision on the action against the rebel MLAs, including Eknath Shinde.
- Rajya Sabha member Anil Desai said that the proceedings of the national executive meeting will be sent to the Election Commission.
- Thackeray was supposed to chair the meeting virtually from his residence "Matoshree".
- However, he reached the party headquarters - Shiv Sena Bhavan - at Dadar.
- Thackeray, who had tested positive for COVID-19 on June 22, had addressed the Shiv Sena cadres twice on June 24, in which he said he was ready to quit the post of Shiv Sena president if the workers feel he was not capable of running the party effectively.
- Mumbai Police has issued a high alert and directed all police stations to ensure security at all political offices in the city. Officer-level police personnel will reportedly visit every political office to ensure their safety.
- This came after Shiv Sena workers ransacked the office of rebel party MLA Tanaji Sawant in Pune on June 25. Sawant is one of the rebel MLAs camping in Guwahati, Assam.
- Houses of Sena and MVA leaders inclding Shinde received tightened security today.
The Eknath Shinde-led rebel MLAs have named their group as ‘Shiv Sena Balasaheb’. The development comes as the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena is pressing for the disqualification of the rebel group from the Assembly. “Our group will be called Shiv Sena Balasaheb. We will not merge with any party,” rebel Shiv Sena MLA Deepak Kesarkar said.
(The tweet roughly translates to: "The protection of Shiv Sena MLAs has been withdrawn by order of the Chief Minister and the Home Minister. The government is responsible for protecting them and their families.")
Rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde alleged that the Maharashtra government has withdrawn the security cover provided at the residences of 16 rebel legislators, including himself, and dubbed the action as "political vendetta".
(The tweet roughly translates to: "The protection of Shiv Sena MLAs has been withdrawn by order of the Chief Minister and the Home Minister. The government is responsible for protecting them and their families.")
A police official said legislators gave the slip to their security officials and the police personnel citing personal reasons so that the government machinery remains clueless about their plans. (READ FULL STORY HERE)
The NCP sought to know who was paying the bills of hotels in Guwahati and Surat. The Sharad Pawar-led party also asked the Income Tax Department and the ED to find out the source of "black money" involved. (READ HERE)
Rebel leader Eknath Shinde, perhaps feeling bored after staying put at a hotel since June 22, went out on an outing to an undisclosed location in the city on June 24. The sudden departure of the Sena leader triggered speculations that he was Maharashtra-bound but he returned two and half hours later. (READ MORE)
The scene of the struggle between Maharashtra’s rebel and ruling factions of the Shiv Sena will soon shift to the Legislative Assembly. The two key players in the next scene will be the Speaker of the Assembly and Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari. The Maharashtra Assembly does not have a Speaker after Nana Patole relinquished the post following his election as the state president of the Congress. Before a new Speaker could be elected, the Shiv Sena MLAs raised the banner of revolt under the leadership of minister Eknath Shinde. (READ FULL EDITORIAL HERE)
In a major setback to the rebel Shiv Sena camp led by Eknath Shinde, Maharashtra assembly deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal had approved the appointment of Uddhav loyalist Ajay Chaudhari as the legislature party leader of Shiv Sena.
The rebel camp had written to the deputy Speaker requesting him to appoint Eknath Shinde as the legislature party leader. It had proposed Sena MLA Bharat Gogawale as chief party whip. However, Zirwal turned down these proposals.
Two days after vacating his official residence in the wake of a massive revolt, Thackeray sought to take back control by addressing a meeting of the party’s functionaries on June 24, invoking Shivaji Maharaj’s spirit to urge the cadre to rebuild the party from scratch.
In his emotional address, he also said he was ready to step down as the Shiv Sena president if need be. He said he may have moved out of the official residence of the chief minister, but his determination to fight the crisis was intact. READ MORE
MAHARASHTRA CRISIS: FOLLOW LIVE UPDATES OF JUNE 24 HERE