Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde today made his first tweet after he along with some Sena MLAs apparently are camping in Gujarat's Surat city, a day after the Sena-led MVA, which also comprises the NCP and Congress, suffered a setback in the Maharashtra Legislative Council polls by losing one out of the six seats it contested.
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."
With his reaction since morning, Shinde has dropped sufficient hint that he has decided to part ways with Shiv Sena to chart new path and start a new innings with the BJP.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led government in Maharashtra appears to be in crisis after Shinde and some MLAs of his party have gone incommunicado and camping in Surat, a day after suspected cross-voting in MLC polls, putting a question mark on the stability of the MVA dispensation.
Meanwhile, speaking in Delhi, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said there is an attempt to pull down the Maharashtra government, which he said is happening for the third time.
He also said that Uddhav Thackeray will handle the situation which is an internal matter of the Sena.
In the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly, Shiv Sena has 55 MLAS, NCP (53), Congress (44), Bahujan Vikas Agahdi (three), Samajwadi Party, AIMIM and Prahar Janshakti Party two each. MNS, CPI-M, PWP, Swabhimani Paksha, Rashtriya Samaj Party, Jansurajya Shakti Party and Krantikari Shetkari Paksha have one MLA each. There are 13 independent MLAs.
The opposition BJP has 106 MLAs.
