Maharashtra crisis: Rebel Shiv Sena MLAs arrive in Goa, set to reach Mumbai today

The legislators arrived at the Dabolim airport by a chartered aircraft and were expected to check-in at a five-star hotel, Taj Convention Centre, at Dona Paula near Panaji

Rebel Shiv Sena legislators led by Eknath Shinde and some Independent MLAs from Maharashtra on Wednesday evening landed at Dabolim airport in Goa from Guwahati for a stopover before heading to Mumbai.

Rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde with supporting MLAs arrives at Guwahati International Airport, Wednesday, June 29, 2022. After delaying their departure by around two hours, the dissident MLAs decided to leave for Goa, from where they will go to Mumbai for the floor test on Thursday. (PTI Photo)

The legislators arrived at the Dabolim airport by a chartered flight and were expected to check-in at a five-star hotel, Taj Convention Centre, at Dona Paula near Panaji. The chartered flight landed around 9.45pm and the MLAs exited the airport from a different gate mostly used by the Navy, giving waiting journalists the slip. By then, the Supreme Court had refused to stay the confidence vote in Maharashtra on Thursday, and chief minister Uddhav Thackeray had resigned.

Since Wednesday evening, the security around the airport and the hotel was beefed up expecting the arrival of the rebel MLAs, who were in Assam for the past eight days.

Earlier, Shinde and other Maharashtra MLAs, who were staying in a five-star hotel in Guwahati, left for the Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in four buses. A chartered plane operated by SpiceJet took off at 6.56 pm from Guwahati for Dabolim airport.

“The Supreme Court will take decision,” Shinde told reporters at the Guwahati airport when asked to comment on Shiv Sena’s plea challenging Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari’s decision to convene a special assembly session on Thursday for a floor test.

“First there will be a trust vote and after that we will have a meeting of our legislature party to decide on our future course of action,” he said, adding that all legislators will reach Mumbai on Thursday.

Legislators from the Shinde camp appeared relaxed and confident at the airport, but none of them spoke to reporters. Most of them displayed the victory sign.

“We are not rebels. All of us are Shiv Sainiks. We will carry forward Balasaheb Thackeray’s agenda and ideology of Hindutva and development of Maharashtra,” Shinde said, hinting at the coming fight with Thackeray for the legacy of Balasaheb and the party name itself.

On Wednesday morning, the rebel MLAs visited the Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati .

“I performed a darshan of Ma Kamakhya Devi today to seek peace, prosperity of Maharashtra and its people. Tomorrow we will reach Mumbai to take the required legislative process forward,” Shinde said.

Before leaving Guwahati, Shinde and other rebel MLAs announced a donation of ₹51 lakh for the flood relief Assam.

“Heartfelt gratitude to Shiv Sena MLAs led by Eknath Shinde ji for contributing ₹51 lakh to CM Relief Fund. The contribution will go a long way in reaching out to the flood victims and ensuring relief in flood affected areas of our state,” Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted.

The rebel MLAs were accompanied to the airport by two ministers from Assam , Pijush Hazarika and Ashok Singhal.

Shinde and other rebel MLAs reached Guwahati from Gujarat’s Surat on July 22. They were joined by other Independent and Shiv Sena MLAs during the course of the next few days.

(With inputs from Gerard De Souza in Goa)