'A month ago, Uddhav Thackeray offered Shinde CM's post, he wept. Then…'

Maharashtra political crisis: Accusing the dissident Shiv Sena MLAs of having "monstrous ambitions", Aaditya Thackeray said even if all the party legislators take to rebellion, victory will always be of the party, adding the doors of the state and the party are now shut for the rebels.

Yuva Sena leader and Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray on Sunday said rebel cabinet colleague Eknath Shinde was offered the chief minister's post by Uddhav Thackeray, but the disgruntled leader then started weeping. Only a month later, he triggered a rebellion, Aaditya added.

File photos of Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray and rebel Sena leader Eknath Shinde. 

Addressing Sena workers for the second day in Mumbai in the midst of massive political crisis in the state following Shinde's revolt with a host of party lawmakers, Aaditya said, “On May 20, Uddhav Thackeray called Eknath Shinde and asked him to become the chief minister, if he wanted to become one. At that time, he did drama and started weeping. Just a month after, he broke into rebellion.”

Read live updates of the crisis here

“But they (Shinde faction) are not capable of doing so. This is not a rebellion, this is separatism. They took undue advantage of the CM's ill-health,” Aaditya, the elder son of the chief minister said.

Further, accusing the dissident Shiv Sena MLAs of having "monstrous ambitions", Aaditya said even if all the party legislators turn rebels, victory will always be of the party, adding the doors of the state and the party are now shut for the rebels.

The Sena has initiated legal action against the rebel camp and served notices to 16 MLAs camping at a luxury hotel in BJP-ruled Assam. Soon after, it was reported that Shinde moved the Supreme Court against deputy speaker Narhari Zirwal's rejection of a no-confidence motion plea by the rebel. Fifteen other rebel MLAs have also filed a separate petition before the Supreme Court. Both petitions will be heard by SC bench of Justices Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala on Monday.

More than 40 lawmakers are currently camping with Shinde at the luxury hotel in Guwahati.

Meanwhile, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar met leaders of his party and Congress – both constituents of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition – to discuss the political fallout of the six-day-old rebellion.

Ministers Balasaheb Thorat and Ashok Chavan, and Shiv Sena's Anil Parab and Anil Desai held talks with the veteran leader, who is said to be the architect of the unlikely alliance that was stitched in 2019 following the Sena's fallout with decades-old ally BJP over power-sharing issues.

Speaking to reporters in Delhi, Pawar earlier said his party would support Uddhav's government till the last minute.