E-Paper
Thackeray eyes anti-defection laws, BJP in wait-and-watch mode: 10 points
Maharashtra political crisis: Shiv Sena's Raut has slammed the BJP, saying “Maharashtra is not Madhya Pradesh", referring to the fall of the Kamal Nath government earlier.
Maharashtra’s ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi is handling a major political crisis after one of its top ministers - the Shiv Sena's Eknath Shinde - went incommunicado and was later reported to be in Gujarat’s Surat with several other lawmakers. More than 20 - by some accounts 35 - Sena MLAs are said to be camping at a hotel in Surat. Sena leader Eknath Shinde is reportedly upset with his party. He is expected to brief a presser sometime today. Sena’s Sanjay Raut, however, has said that ‘things are under control’ and the party is 'touch in MLAs' amid buzz over rebellion. Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil has blamed Raut for the crisis.
Here are ten points on the political crisis brewing in Maharashtra:
1. A delegation of Sena leaders - including Milind Narvekar and Ravi Pathak - met the Shinde and rebel MLAs staying at the Surat hotel. They met for around two hours, during which Shinde reportedly told Narvekar he had no intention of returning to the Sena fold as the party had abandoned its Hindutva roots.
2. Shinde earlier said he 'will not betray' the ideals of Balasaheb Thackeray, the founder of the Shiv Sena. 'We are Balasaheb Thackeray's Shiv Sainiks. Balasaheb has taught us Hindutva. We will not betray the ideals of Balasaheb and teachings of Dharmveer Anand Dighe for the sake of power," he tweeted. He has been removed as the group leader of the Shiv Sena in the Maharashtra legislature. MLA Ajay Chaudhari has been assigned that role.
3. Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray is to hold a meeting of MLAs from the ruling Sena-NCP-Congress alliance. The Sena insists the situation is under control; Sanjay Raut said they are in touch with the MLAs in Gujarat ‘who were not being allowed to leave’. Thackeray may now rely on anti-defection laws to quell the rebellion and bring back stability in the government.
5. NCP chief Sharad Pawar has backed his alliance partner, saying "Eknath Shinde never conveyed to us he wants to be chief minister. This is an internal issue of Shiv Sena… whatever they decide we're with them. We don't think there is any need for change in government. This is the third such incident that has happened in the last two-and-a-half years." The Congress has also offered the Sena support, with state unit chief Nana Patole lashing out at the BJP.
6. All of this come a day after the BJP won five of 10 seats in legislative council elections. The Sena and NCP won two each and the Congress just one. The BJP has claimed cross-voting from Sena and Congress MLAs helped it win.
7. The BJP has 106 lawmakers in the 288-member house while its allies have eight. With those 114 lawmakers, BJP and its allies are just 30 short of the halfway mark of 144 that could trigger a government change in the state.
8. The BJP has, so far, been non-committal. "We're minutely observing… a little premature to say it'll lead to any changes. As of now no situation that demands special (Assembly) session for no-confidence motion. From July 18, session will begin… we will look into it," state unit chief Chandrakant Patil said.
9. The Surat hotel where Shinde and the rebel MLAs have put up has turned into a 'fortress', news agency PTI said. Nearly 400 policemen have been guarding it since early Tuesday morning. It has stopped accepting bookings for the foreseeable future and no 'unauthorised' persons are being allowed inside.
10. Meanwhile, ex-chief minister and BJP leader Devedra Fadnavis is in Delhi to meet Amit Shah as crisis brews in the state. "It is our tradition that we need to go to our national leaders with sweets, after winning an election. Fadnavis has gone to distribute sweets among our party leaders in Delhi," Patil told reporters.
(With inputs from ANI, PTI)
