Eknath Shinde met Devendra Fadnavis in Vadodara last night: Report

Rebel Shiv Sena MLA Eknath Shinde, who is camping along with nearly 50 party legislators and independents in Guwahati's Radisson Blu Hotel, met Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Gujarat's Vadodara last night, sources told NDTV.

According to the report, Shinde came to Vadodara on a special flight from Assam's Guwahati around midnight and flew back at around 6 am. Also, the report said that Union Home Minister Amit Shah was also in Vadodara last night. However, whether he met the Sena rebel is not known.

Meanwhile, the rebel MLAs have decided to name their group "Shiv Sena Balasaheb". "We have decided to form a new group named Shiv Sena Balasaheb. We will carry this group name in future. We will have our office at Vidhan Bhavan under the name of the newly formed group," rebel Sena MLA Deepak Kesarkar said.

Asked about the timeline for the registration of their group, he said that the newly elected leader Eknath Shinde will decide on the matter. "This decision will be taken by Eknath Shinde, he is our leader and he will decide on it," Kesarkar said.

However, reacting to the name of the faction, Shiv Sena President and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on launched a scathing attack on the rebels.

"Don't invoke my Dad's name, use your father's name, to win the elections," said a livid Thackeray, presiding over a meeting of the Shiv Sena's national executive at the Sena Bhavan this afternoon.

Thackeray also said that the party will write to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to ensure that the name of Shiv Sena or Balasaheb Thackeray is not misused by unauthorised persons or groups of such "turncoats" for their political interests, failing which they would face legal action.

(With agency inputs)

Published on: Sunday, June 26, 2022, 08:25 AM IST