After Monday’s legislative council election, Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra Urban Development Minister Eknath Shinde, along with several other party MLAs, became ‘out of reach.’ This fanned rumours of a possible mutiny inside the Shiv Sena, one of the Maharashtra government’s main Maha Vikas Aghadi parties.
Eknath Shinde and other’missing’ Shiv Sena MLAs are locked up in a hotel in Surat, Gujarat, which is governed by the BJP. The hotel’s security was increased up, and no one was allowed to enter. As the situation with the MLAs who had gone missing grew more tense, Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray went into troubleshooting mode and dispatched two party leaders, Milind Narvekar and Ravindra Phatak, to meet with Eknath Shinde and other MLAs.
According to sources, Milind Narvekar forced Eknath Shinde to talk to Uddhav Thackeray over the phone during the nearly two-hour meeting. According to sources, Eknath Shinde urged that the Sena re-establish its ties with the BJP.
When Uddhav Thackeray declined to ally with the BJP again, arguing that the Shiv Sena had been abused by the saffron party in the past, Eknath Shinde answered that the MLAs in Surat have a problem with the Sena uniting with the NCP and the Congress, according to sources.
Apart from that, Eknath Shinde, who was dismissed as Shiv Sena legislative group leader in the Maharashtra legislature, assured Uddhav Thackeray that he was not interested in becoming Chief Minister and that no action should be taken against him.
Meanwhile, in Mumbai, Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) representatives met with Uddhav Thackeray at his home on Tuesday evening. During the meeting, NCP leaders Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil, Jayant Patil, and Ajit Pawar were present.
What precipitated Maharashtra’s political crisis?
Eknath Shinde was the one who threw the state’s ruling coalition into disarray by going to a hotel in Surat, Gujarat, with numerous party MLAs. The move cast doubt on MVA’s future, which includes the Shiv Sena, the Congress, and the NCP.
Eknath Shinde, a four-time Shiv Sena MLA, was said to be angry at the Sena leadership for allegedly ignoring him.
