Eknath Shinde, the disgruntled Shiv Sena MLA who triggered the latest political crisis in Maharashtra by wooing a majority of the ruling party’s MLAs, on Wednesday said they will reach Mumbai tomorrow to participate in the trust vote. The Shinde camp that had shifted base to Guwahati last week were flying to Goa, before making their way to Mumbai a day later.
“We will reach Mumbai tomorrow and participate in the trust vote. After that, a meeting of the legislative party will be held. Following this, the further course of action will be decided,” Shinde told reporters at the Guwahati airport.
“We are not rebels. We are Shiv Sena. We are carrying forward the agenda and ideology of Balasaheb Thackeray’s Shiv Sena. We will work for the Hindutva ideology and development of the state,” he added.
Hundreds of policemen were deployed at the Guwahati airport as the MLAs left the hotel earlier in the day. The three buses left for the airport, around 15 km away, followed by several escort vehicles.
The rebel Sena leader’s statement comes amid an ongoing Supreme Court hearing regarding the Thackeray camp’s petition arguing that governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari’s order to test the majority the Uddhav Thackeray government is illegal.
Meanwhile, Thackeray is conducting a cabinet meeting in Mumbai to discuss the strategy for the scheduled floor test on Thursday. BJP leaders are also holding talks at the official residence of Devendra Fadnavis, leader of Opposition in the Assembly.
This morning, the bench agreed to conduct hearing beyond its usual timings on request of Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Shiv Sena chief whip Sunil Prabhu.
Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has asked the MVA government to prove the majority at 11am on Thursday.
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