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With the dissident Sena faction refusing to budge, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray sent out an emotional appeal to the rebel MLAs, urging them to return to Mumbai and talk to him.
“Don’t fall prey to anyone’s missteps. The honour given to you by Shiv Sena cannot be found anywhere. If you come forward and speak, we will sort out the issues. As Shiv Sena party chief and family head, I am still worried about you. Come here for a dialogue,” Thackeray wrote in a letter to the MLAs who deserted him.
Thackeray’s offer to mend fences comes against the backdrop of controversial statements made by some Shiv Sena leaders, especially Sanjay Raut whose “40 bodies without soul” statement had caused a flutter.
His appeal also came soon after rebel leader Eknath Shinde said that he will soon return to Mumbai and claimed that he has support of 50 MLAs. He also rubbished the Sena’s claim that as many as 20 MLAs of his group are in touch will Thackeray-led faction.
Senior Sena leaders have been claiming that around 20 MLAs of the party, now with Shinde in Guwahati, are in touch with them and want to return to Maharashtra.
Shinde said, “Some people from that side are claiming that some MLAs here are in touch with them. If it is the case, then they should reveal their names.” “Our stand is clear…to take forward the Shiv Sena, dreamt of by late Balasaheb Thackeray. We will continue to toe the line of his Hindutva,” he said.
Shiv Sena minister Uday Samant, who is also part of the rebel camp, said none of the legislators staying in Guwahati are in touch with any party leader in Mumbai. “We are not in touch with any Shiv Sena leader in Mumbai. We are in touch only with Eknath Shinde,” Samant in a pre-recorded video statement.
“No need to have any misunderstanding. We have voluntarily came here with Shinde, who has sincerely carried forward the idea of Hindutva conceptualised by Balasaheb Thackeray,” he added.
The Supreme Court’s Monday order putting on abeyance the disqualification proceedings against the rebel legislators till July 11 and also rejecting Thackeray team’s request to Thackeray’s team against holding a floor test till then came as a shot in the arm for the rebel group, paving way for floor test in the House.
Reports suggest that Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari may ask the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government to prove majority in the house sometime this week.
Meanwhile, Shinde is believed to have held discussions with his lawyers over the possibility of a floor test where he could prove numbers in his favour and stake claim to form government with the BJP.
The saffron party, on the other hand, reiterated that it has not received any proposal from Shinde, adding that it will remain on “wait-and-watch” mode as of now.
However, amid the spiralling political crisis, former Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis met BJP president J P Nadda in the national capital. Fadnavis is believed to have briefed Nadda about the unfolding political developments in the western state.
The BJP has denied any role in the rebellion but Fadnavis is being seen to be playing a key role in working out a post-MVA dispensation which he may head with support from the Sena rebels.
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