On Tuesday, Shiv Sena Minister Eknath Shinde, who is said to be 'upset' with his party, is reported to be holed up in a hotel in Gujarat's Surat, along with at least 10, if not more, similarly disaffected MLAs from Maharashtra.
Security outside the hotel in Gujarat, a BJP-ruled state, has been beefed up and no one is being allowed entry. Shinde is likely to address mediapersons from Surat around noon on Tuesday.
The development has set off speculation on the future of the Uddhav Thackeray government.
The MLAs who are currently staying at a five-star hotel in Surat include: Magathane MLA Prakash Surve, Radhanagri MLA Prakash Abitkar, Kolhapur MLA Geeta Jain from Mira Bhayander, Ambernath MLA Balaji Kinikar, Mahad MLA Bharat Gogawale, Alibag MLA Mahendra Dalvi, Karjat MLA Mahendra Thorve, Palghar MLA Shrinivas Vanga, Bhiwandi Rural MLA Shantaram More and 3 other legislators from Raigad.
The legislators with Shinde are reportedly 'upset' and this may signal a major crisis for the ruling alliance of Shiv Sena, the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party.
The BJP won five seats in the Maharashtra Legislative Council election with Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party bagging two each. The BJP had fielded five candidates while MVA fielded six candidates for 10 MLC seats.
After the election results were announced, BJP's winning candidate Pravin Darekar said, “We're very happy; Maharashtra has shown faith in BJP. Cross-voting 100% happened among members of Shiv Sena and Congress. We wouldn't have received so many votes otherwise.”
