Eknath Shinde Runs Away with 40 Shiv Sena MLAs
Maharashtra Minister Eknath Shinde revolted against his party On Monday night of 20th June and later showed up in a hotel in Surat with over 30 other Shiv Sena MLAs including three state ministers.
Right now the Maharashtra government is in a huge mess. The current government is an alliance of Shiv Sena - NCP - Congress which came to power in November 2019. In Maharashtra’s Legislative Assembly there are a total of 288. The majority mark in the Maharashtra assembly is 144. Sena-NCP-Congress have 169 seats, this also included independent MLAs. While the BJP has 113 which also includes independent MLAs. There are 5 more MLAs from different parties. The remaining 1 MLA was from Shiv Sena who recently passed away. Thus there 288 seats in the Assembly. Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC) elections were held on Monday 20th June 2022. It is the upper house of the assembly like the Rajya Sabha. Elections for 10 seats in the MLC were held and 11 candidates stood for the elections. During the election, all 288 MLAs voted. For a person to get elected he needs 26 votes. After the voting happened, out of the 10 seats BJP won 5, NCP 2, Shiv Sena 2 & Congress 1. Here is something interesting: BJP bagged a total of 126 votes while it had only 113 MLAs in the Assembly.
That’s when rumors started spreading that some Shiv Sena MLAs were allegedly supporting BJP. Then on 20th June night late at night, Eknath Shinde who is the Minister of Urban Development and Public Works in Maharashtra, along with 11 MLAs took a flight and went to Surat. When they reached Surat they were staying at a 5 star hotel named Le Meridien. There was heavy security by the Gujarat Police. Eknath Shinde and the MLAs are apparently upset with the alleged dilution of Sena's stand on Hindutva. They are miffed with the ideologically mismatched alliance with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party. When the 11 MLAs left for Surat by flight with Shinde, another group of 6 MLAs were being taken to Gujarat. Shinde had told them he wanted them to meet an important person.
However, as their cars crossed Vasai Virar and went ahead of the Gujarat border, one MLAs grew suspicious. He realized that Shinde was plotting against Uddhav Thackeray. Then as the car neared a toll naka, one of the MLAs jumped out and took a lift from a two-wheeler rider. He then walked back four kilometers towards Maharashtra, hitched a ride on a truck to reach Dahisar in the early hours and rushed to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s residence after returning to Mumbai. The MLA told Thackeray everything.
Today morning Shinde took a flight and went to Guwahati. Before leaving he said that he has 40 MLAs with him. Shinde is demanding that Shiv Sena break the alliance with NCP & Congress and Join the BJP. He has said that he will not leave the Shiv Sena and that this is for the betterment of the state. Now there are also rumors that Shinde wants to become Deputy and that he is in talks with BJP who are planning to make Devendra Fadnavis the CM in Maharashtra. So out of the total 55 MLAs of Shiv Sena, Shinde has taken 40 with him. If they all say they support BJP then BJP will get 113 + 40 = 153 seats which is more than 144 the minimum number required to form a government in Maharashtra. This is why there is a huge political problem. Uddhav Thackeray had sent two Sena leaders to Surat to talk to Shinde but no solution was found. Uddhav even personally spoke to Shinde on the phone. Shinde again said that he won’t leave the party and told Sena to join the BJP. There are rumors that more MLAs have left for Guwahati.
Shinde is expected to meet with Amit Shah today in Delhi. He will fly there by private jet. Stay tuned to ISH News for all the updates. What do you think about this political tantrum which has surfaced from Maharashtra, Do let us know in the comment section below.
