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Focus shifts to BJP ahead of next government formation in Maharashtra
The BJP is expected to form the next government with the support of Eknath Shinde-led 39 rebel Shiv Sena lawmakers
Uddhav Thackeray’s resignation as the Maharashtra chief minister on Wednesday after the Supreme Court refused to stall a floor test that the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government appeared set to lose has shifted the focus to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is expected to form the next government with the support of 39 rebel Shiv Sena lawmakers.
Eknath Shinde, who led the rebels, is likely to be sworn in as deputy chief minister with BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis as the chief minister even as the contours of power-sharing remain unclear. Fadnavis lost power in 2019 after the Shiv Sena walked out of a pre-poll alliance with the BJP and formed a government in alliance with Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
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Fadnavis told his followers he will be back after his exit from power around three years earlier. Thackeray’s resignation culminated Fadnavis’s campaign to topple the MVA government.
The battle for the Sena is separately expected to play out before the Election Commission as the Shinde has maintained it is the Shiv Sena. It remains to be seen how many Sena Members of Parliament back the Shinde faction, which has 39 of the party’s 55 lawmakers in the state assembly.
Shinde on Wednesday reiterated that they are not rebels and remain Shiv Sainiks while pledging to carry forward Sena founder Bal Thackeray’s agenda and Hindutva ideology.
Thackeray maintained he was not going anywhere either and will meet Shiv Sainiks at Sena Bhavan and rebuild the party with new blood. He insisted the Shiv Sena will remain the same and nobody can take it away from them. Thackeray said he was not going away forever and will be around to gather all his people. He said his family does not run after power or stick to power and added he was not scared.
Thackeray said he came unexpectedly and was going similarly. He hit out at the rebels saying he sinned by trusting the party colleagues. Thackeray said the Central forces were deployed to prevent Shiv Sainiks from protesting while asking his party workers not to stop the rebels.
The floor test result will, meanwhile, be subject to the pending disqualification proceedings against 16 of the rebel lawmakers, the Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday. On Monday, the court extended the deadline for the lawmakers to respond to the disqualification notice to July 11.
In a tweet, lawyer Indira Jaising wondered what will be decided on July 11. “Devendra Fadnavis will appoint a new speaker, the Deputy Speaker will no longer have the power to decide the disqualification petitions, what will the Supreme Court decide on 11th July?”
