Rebel Maharashtra leader Eknath Shinde, who was camping at a five-star hotel in Gujarat’s Surat till Tuesday night, reached Assam early on Wednesday amid the ongoing political turmoil in the state, which has plunged the Uddhav Thackeray government into a crisis. He says he has support of at least 40 MLAs in the midst of heightened political drama.
A couple of videos have emerged that shows the rebel Sena leader posing inside the hotel with the MLAs in Surat before leaving for Guwahati.
One of the videos - shared by news agency ANI - was also captured from the Le Meridien hotel in Gujarat last night that shows the MLAs signing a document which, as per media reports, is a 'document of support.'
{{/usCountry}}One of the videos - shared by news agency ANI - was also captured from the Le Meridien hotel in Gujarat last night that shows the MLAs signing a document which, as per media reports, is a 'document of support.'
{{/usCountry}}In another video, the group can be seen arriving at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Guwahati amid tight security. The armed security persons can be seen escorting the vehicle towards the hotel.
Both the states where the rebel MLAs camped - Gujarat and Assam - are ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party. Before the arrival of Maharashtra MLAs at Guwahati airport, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma visited Radisson Blu hotel in Guwahati, ANI reported. "I came to receive them (Shiv Sena MLAs from Surat, Gujarat). I have not counted how many MLAs have arrived. I came here for personal relations. They have not disclosed any program," BJP MLA Sushanta Borgohain said.
After reaching Assam, Shinde told reporters "a total of 40 Shiv Sena MLAs are present here". "We will carry Balasaheb Thackeray's Hindutva."
Meanwhile the Uddhav Thackrey led-Maharashtra cabinet is set to hold a meeting at 1 pm today.
The political turmoil in Maharashtra unfolded after speculation of cross-voting in Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC) elections in which the BJP bagged five seats, in a major blow to the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance government.
Out of the total 10 seats in the Legislative Council that went to the polls on Monday, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Shiv Sena won two each while Congress managed to clinch one seat. After the MLC elections, Shinde along with some other Shiv Sena MLAs was staying in Surat. A day later on Tuesday, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut confirmed that some Shiv Sena MLAs and Eknath Shinde were currently "not reachable".
(With inputs from ANI)