Pune: Shinde faction, BJP celebrate Supreme Court verdict

Supporters of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena erupted in celebration on Thursday in Pune following the Supreme Court's verdict on last year's political crisis in Maharashtra.

The crisis had resulted in the collapse of the tripartite MVA government after a rebellion by the Shinde faction. Shiv Sena workers, joined by BJP supporters, took to the streets in Pune, bursting firecrackers, distributing sweets, and dancing to the beats of drums. Shiv Sena City Chief Pramod Nana Bhangire and Bharatiya Janata Party City Chief Jagdish Mulik, along with several other workers from the Shinde faction and BJP, were present in a jubilant celebration

The jubilant Shiv Sainiks commenced their rally from Shiv Sena Bhavan near Sarasbaug, eventually reaching the Balasaheb Thackeray Kaladalan, where they garlanded the statue of the late Balasaheb Thackeray. Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that it could not reinstate the then Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by Uddhav Thackeray, as he had resigned without facing a floor test in June of the previous year.

In its verdict on a series of pleas related to the political crisis that led to the downfall of the MVA government, the five-judge constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, declared that the appointment of Bharat Gogawale of the Shinde faction as the whip of Shiv Sena by the then Speaker was "illegal." The court also stated that the then governor, Bhagat Singh Koshyari, did not have sufficient objective reasons to conclude that Chief Minister Thackeray had lost the confidence of the House.