Fact Check: Was Eknath Shinde drunk when he spoke to the press?

As the political crisis in Maharashtra continues to drag on, a video has gone viral on social media, showing Shiv Sena rebel leader Eknath Shinde interacting with the media.

The clip left netizens wondering if the MLA was intoxicated, as the footage made it seem as though he was incabale of speaking, or walking straight.

However, the clip is cleverly edited to paint a misleading picture. It captures fewer than 30 seconds of a more than 2 minute long interaction.

A longer version of the same interaction reveals that Shinde was merely taken aback by being suddenly swamped by a horde of reporters, and took a few moments to gain his bearings.

Shinde was having trouble standing, as he was thronged by the crowd. Afterwards, he reagined his composure and had a fairly standard interaction with the media.

It may be noted that the rebel MLA has had a busy few days, shuttling between Guwahati in Assam to Vadodara in Gujarat, reportedly to meet with former Maharashtra Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis.

Shinde was likely tired from travel, which is why he took a few moments to gain his bearings.

So while it may be amusing to think of him as drunk during the interaction, that is almost certainly not the case - he has orchestrated a hostile takeover of the Shiv Sena, and almost single-handedly been responsible for the possible toppling of the MVA government.

That he would be foolish enough to interact with the media whilst intoxicated simply doesn't stand up to scrutiny.