Maharashtra political crisis: Shiv Sena delegation leaves for Surat to meet Eknath Shinde

CM Uddhav Thackeray wants his delegation to meet Shinde and other legislators to talk to them and bring them back to Mumbai.

Sanjay Jog Updated: Tuesday, June 21, 2022, 03:23 PM IST
Maharashtra Minister Eknath Shinde  | PTI

Maharashtra Minister Eknath Shinde | PTI

A Shiv Sena delegation comprising Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's confidants Milind Narvekar and Ravindra Phatak has left for Surat to meet party minister Eknath Shinde and other legislators and pacify them.

Narvekar, who is also known as a crisis manager, enjoys good rapport with leaders across all parties.

Thackeray wants his delegation to meet Shinde and other legislators to talk to them and bring them back to Mumbai.

The Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), also comprising the NCP and Congress, suffered a setback on Monday when it lost six seats it contested in the Maharashtra Legislative Council polls.

Subsequently, Shinde along with some Shiv Sena MLAs went incommunicado. They were camping at a hotel in Gujarat's Surat city, according to sources.

On Tuesday, Thackeray, who is also the Shiv Sena president, held a meeting where party MLAs Sunil Kadam, Dada Bhuse, Neelam Gorhe, MPs Arvind Sawant and Vinayak Raut, MLC Manisha Kayande and other leaders were present.

Earlier in the day, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said Shinde was not in Mumbai, but communication had been established with him.

Raut asserted that the Sena was a party of loyalists and attempts by the BJP, like in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, to topple the MVA government would not succeed.

He also said Shinde was a trusted Shiv Sainik, and that the 'missing' MLAs will be back after the party is able to reach out the them.

(With agency inputs)

Published on: Tuesday, June 21, 2022, 02:57 PM IST

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