'They will say they brought down Balasaheb's son': What Uddhav Thackeray said

Uddhav Thackeray quit as Maharashtra chief minister hours before a trust vote he was almost certain to lose.

Uddhav Thackeray quit as Maharashtra chief minister late Wednesday night, less than an hour after the Supreme Court cleared the decks for a floor test he was almost certain to lose. In a short speech streamed on Facebook Live, the Shiv Sena boss made one final emotional appeal to the 50 rebel lawmakers who had thrown in with Eknath Shinde (and one final jab) and thanked allies Sonia Gandhi of the Congress and Sharad Pawar of the NCP for their support.

Mumbai, June 29 (ANI): Maharashtra CM and Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray addresses people, in Mumbai on Wednesday. (ANI Photo) (ANI)

Here are the top quotes from Uddhav Thackeray's resignation speech:

> In a democracy, heads are counted to show numbers. I am not interested in that. I don't want to play these games.

Maharashtra political crisis: Follow LIVE updates here

> Tomorrow they will say that they have brought down Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray's son.

READ: 'Still respect you...': Uddhav's message to rebels as he quits as CM

> I came (to power) in an unexpected manner and am going out in a similar fashion (but) am not going away forever. I will once again sit in Shiv Sena Bhawan… I will gather all my people. I am resigning as CM & as MLC.

> Central forces are being deployed in Mumbai. It seems the Indian army on the China border will be deployed here. I am telling Shiv Sainiks to let them come.

> Who are you angry with? Me? Congress or NCP? Rather than going to Surat and speaking up you should have come to me at Matoshree. I still respect your feelings.

READ: Supreme Court okays floor test against Uddhav Thackeray government

> The Supreme Court has given the verdict on the floor test. I want to thank the governor (Bhagat Singh Koshyari) who upheld the democracy by asking us to hold a floor test in 24 hours after a delegation met him.

The Maharashtra government has been roiled in crisis over the past week - ever since Shinde decamped to Surat in BJP-ruled Gujarat and then Guwahati in BJP-ruled Assam with a steadily growing following.

Shinde claims he has 50 MLAs, including 40 Sena lawmakers, behind him.

The rebels left Assam - where they were stashed at a luxury hotel in Guwahati - on a chartered SpiceJet flight this evening for Goa - booked into another luxury hotel - and were to come directly for a floor test that will now not take place.

The BJP, meanwhile, has begun celebrating the fall of the Uddhav Thackeray government, with festivities breaking out at a legislative party meet in Mumbai.