MUMBAI: Amid reports of rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde flying in to Vadodara on Friday night and meeting BJP leaders Amit Shah and Devendra Fadnavis to discuss the possibility of government formation in Maharashtra, the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition in the state sought to pressure the dissidents further.
According to highly placed sources, former chief minister Fadnavis was seen on Friday night at Mumbai airport taking a flight to Gujarat while Shinde flew in from Guwahati. Sources in Guwahati confirmed that he took a flight at around 11: 30 pm and returned early morning.
On Saturday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray called a meeting of the Shiv Sena’s national executive, which authorised him to take decisions to revamp the organisation. On Monday, Uddhav is expected to recommend the sacking of six ministers, including Shinde and Gulabrao Patil, to Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.
Both sides continued playing mind games, with the rebels naming their group Shiv Sena (Balasaheb) with Shinde as its leader, adding they have not quit the parent party. Parallelly, a technical battle was being fought with Deputy Speaker Narhari Jirwal rejecting a no-confidence motion against him sought by the Shinde camp as it was sent via a random email address and was not submitted in person to the Speaker’s office.
In a counter-attack, the deputy speaker’s office issued disqualification notice against 16 rebel Sena MLAs. They will have to appear in person to present their case or face disqualification. “We are following all legal procedures. The advocate general’s opinion was also sought by us,” said a person privy to the development.
However, the rebels refused to blink. One of them, Deepak Kesarkar, said the deputy speaker was violating the law. He said the Shinde has the majority of MLAs, so their side should be heard. “If the deputy speaker does not listen to us, then we will approach the court and request the governor to ask the Maha Vikas Aghadi to prove its majority on the floor of the Assembly,” he added. Meanwhile, Sanjay Raut claimed that the rebel ministers will lose their posts “in 24 hours” and the process had already started.