Allies of the ruling coalition in Maharashtra extended their their support to the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra government moments after Sena leader Sanjay Raut said his party was ready to discuss pulling out of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) if rebel lawmakers, led by Eknath Shinde, returned within the next 24 hours.
In a tweet, NCP leader Jayant Patil said his party would stand firmly by Thackeray till the end. “The Maha Vikas Aghadi is a government established for the development and welfare of Maharashtra. We will stand firmly with Uddhav Thackeray till the end,” he wrote in Marathi.
Read here for live updates of the crisis
Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole said his party was ready for a floor test and was standing by the Shiv Sena to stop the BJP from coming to power. He, however, added that is the Sena wanted to form an alliance with anyone, his party did not have a problem about it.
“We’re with them (Shiv Sena) to stop the BJP from coming to power. This game is happening due to the ED… The Congress is ready for a floor test. We’re with MVA and will remain so. If they (Shiv Sena) want to form an alliance with anyone, we don’t have a problem,” Patole was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
The Sena, NCP and Congress had formed the MVA government after the Uddhav-led party severed decades-old ties with the BJP in 2019 over power-sharing issues.
Shinde, whose latest moves have triggered a survival crisis for the MVA, has called the alliance an unnatural and spoke about how Sena has been losing its Hindutva ideals for the sake of power.
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