Barely few minutes after Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday offered to resign as CM and also as the Shiv Sena president to quell the rebellion, the rebel party leader and urban development minister ruled out possibility of any rapprochement. Shinde, who claims that he is accompanied by over 46 legislators and another 10 are in the pipeline, did not address the press conference but after meeting with his associates denied Thackeray’s offer.
Instead, Shinde preferred to express his views by going to twitter. In two separate tweets, Shinde insisted that it was necessary to walk out of ‘’unnatural alliance’’ with NCP and Congress to ensure the survival of Shiv Sena and Shiv Sainiks in Maharashtra.
‘’In the last two years under the MVA government, only the coalition partners benefitted while the Shiv Sainiks were left frustrated. While our allies gained strength the Shiv Sena and Sainiks were deliberately weakened. For ensuring the survival of the party and Sainiks, it is necessary to step out of this unnatural alliance. It is time to take a decision for the greater good of Maharashtra,” he said.
Earlier, the 34 Shiv Sena MLAs, who are part of the breakaway faction and housed in a hotel at Guwahati in BJP ruled Assam, passed a resolution appointing Eknath Shinde as the leader of the Shiv Sena Legislature party. In the resolution, they said that “there is enormous discontent amongst the cadre of the party especially after Shiv Sena for forming the government with NCP and Congress who are ideologically opposed to out party”.
‘’Bharat Gogawale has been appointed as the Chief Whip of Shiv Sena Legislative Party,’’ said the resolution. So, the order issued by Sunil Prabhu, regarding the Legislative Party meeting this evening is illegal," tweets Shiv Sena's Eknath Shinde
These legislators wrote to Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and state assembly deputy speaker Narahari Zirwal that Eknath Shinde is their leader. The signatories to the letter include 30 Sena and four independent MLAs. Eknath Shinde needs seven more Sena MLAs on his side to split the party without risking disqualification under the anti-defection law. In the late evening water supply minister Gulabrao Patil along with three legislators Manjula Gavit and Chandrakant Patil (independents) and Yogesh Kadam, who is son of a veteran Shiv Sena leader Ramdas Kadam, met Shinde and joined him.
Shinde’s move came after Shiv Sena issued a warning to its MLAs to attend a meeting at CM Uddhav Thackeray's official residence Varsha at 5 pm today amid the political crisis that has rocked the state. ‘’If you don't attend the meeting it will be considered that you want to leave the party membership and as a result there will be action of disqualification initiated against you as per the provisions of law," the letter issued by Chief Whip Sunil Prabhu stated.
Meanwhile, Shinde said, ‘’We have over 46 MLAs with us. There are other MLAs including Shiv Sena. This number is set to increase. "We don't have any conditions," he said.
Explaining the allegation of MLA Nitin Deshmukh of exercise force for his hospitalisation, Shinde said that it is a false allegation. ‘’If we had used force, would our people have gone to release him?’’he asked.
‘’Hindutva is important for us. The MLAs with me are loyal to Hindutva and will never compromise with Hindutva to get power, said Shinde. He noted ‘’We have more numbers than we need.’’
We have not left Shiv Sena and will not leave
Shinde said that the legislators at Guwahati are marching ahead on the thoughts of Hindutva taught by Balasaheb Thackeray and Anand Dighe.
‘’We are all Balasaheb's staunch Shiv Sainiks. We have not left Shiv Sena, we will not leave Shiv Sena and Balasaheb's thoughts,’’ he noted.
