In a dramatic turn of events in Maharashtra politics, senior Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde decamped late last night for Surat, along with at least 21 other MLAs. Now, sources are saying that some of these MLAs have dialled party chief and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray from the Le Méridien hotel and have alleged that have been "forcibly" taken to the neighbouring state.
According to reports, Shinde has been offered the post of deputy Chief Minister if he manages to create a separate faction and break away from the Maharashtra government.
Meanwhile, with a tweet earlier today, Shinde has dropped sufficient hint that he has decided to part ways with Shiv Sena to chart start a new innings.
In a tweet in Marathi, Shinde said, "We are Balasaheb's staunch Shiv Sainiks ... Balasaheb has taught us Hindutva .. We have never and will never cheat for power regarding Balasaheb's thoughts and Dharmaveer Anand Dighe Saheb's teachings."
Hinting at a switch, Shinde has also dropped "Shiv Sena" from his Twitter bio.
Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut, meanwhile, said Shinde has been sacked as Shiv Sena group leader in Maharashtra Assembly.
Earlier in the day, Raut confirmed the developments and said, "Some MLAs of Shiv Sena and Eknath Shinde are currently not reachable. Efforts are being made to topple the MVA government but BJP has to remember that Maharashtra is very different from Rajasthan or Madhya Pradesh."
"I know Eknath Shinde Ji, he is a true Shiv Sainik. He will return without any conditions. I have heard that our MLAs are in Surat, Gujarat and they are not being allowed to leave. But they will certainly return as all of them are dedicated to Shiv Sena. I trust that all our MLAs will return and everything will be fine," stated Raut.
Raut said that the party is in touch with the inaccessible MLAs. Discussions are also underway with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar.
"We are in touch with our MLAs who are in Surat now. We are discussing the situation with Uddhav Thackeray Ji and Pawar Sahib. Those working with the thought that they are kingmakers will be unsuccessful," he added.
