Maha crisis: Rebel Sena MLAs moved to Guwahati

"A total of 40 MLAs are present here. We will carry Balasaheb Thackeray's Hindutva," said Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde after arriving in Guwahati.

Guwahati: Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra Urban Development Minister Eknath Shinde along with around 40 rebel MLAs reached Guwahati on Wednesday after triggering a major political stir in Maharashtra when he first disappeared with around 25 MLAs on Monday. "A total of 40 MLAs are present here. We will carry Balasaheb Thackeray's Hindutva," said Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde after arriving at Guwahati airport. They were received at the airport by BJP MPs Pallab Lochan Das and Sushanta Borgohain.

The minister had gone incommunicado after the Council poll results. Later, on Tuesday morning, it was reported that he was camping in the Surat hotel along with some party MLAs. The move, which is largely being seen as an attempt at partisan politics, would require the minister to have the backing of atleast 37 of the total 54 Shiv Sena MLAs to be successfully executed without being prosecuted under the anti-defection law. The Shiv Sena, which heads the MVA, has 54 MLAs, followed by allies NCP (53) and the Congress (44) in the 288 assembly where the current simple majority mark is 144.

The law basically allows legislators to change their parties without any risk of disqualification in various specified circumstances. It allows the party to merge with another, but only if 2/3 of members agree to this merger and none of the members faces defection charges in such a case. If Shinde fails to get the backing of this particular number of MLAs, he and the MLAs who are already with him may be found in a quandary over his next political move. Shinde is therefore risking his legislature seat, while also putting the political future of other MLAs in jeopardy with this move.

Following are the names of some of the MLAs who have reportedly joined Eknath Shinde in his revolt:

Eknath Sambhaji Shinde — SS (Kopri-Pachpakhadi)

Shrinivas Chintaman Vanaga — SS (Palghar)

Mahesh Sambhajiraje Shinde — SS (Koregaon)

Sandipanrao Asaram Bhumre — SS (Paithan)

Shantaram Tukaram More — SS (Bhiwandi Rural)

Sanjay Bhaskarrao Raimulkar — SS (Mehkar)

Vishwanath Atmaram Bhoir — SS (Kalyan West)

Anil Kaljerao Babar— SS (Khanapur)

Ramesh Nanasaheb Bornare — SS (Vaijapur)

Shahaji Bapu Patil — SS (Sangola)

Kishor Aappa Patil — SS (Pachora)

Chinmanrao Rupchand Patil — SS (Erandol)

Mahendra Hari Dalvi — SS (Alibag)

Pradeep Shivnarayan Jaiswal — SS (Aurangabad Central)

Shambhuraj Shivajirao Desai — SS (Patan)

Ghanraj Ghodiram Chaugule — SS (Umarga)

Balaji Pralhad Kinikar — SS (Ambernath)

Bharatshet Maruti Gogavale — SS (Mahad)

Sanjay Rambhau Gaikwad — SS (Buldhana)

Suhas (Anna) Dwarkanath Kande — SS (Nandgaon)

Prakash Anandrao Abitkar — SS (Radhanagari)

Rajkumar Patel — Prahar Janshakti Party (Melghat)

Meanwhile, the MLAs who were camping at Le Meridien hotel in Surat were flown to Assam in the early hours of Wednesday and were lodged in Radisson Blu Hotel in Guwahati. Meanwhile, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was seen at the same hotel for a brief period before the rebel MLAs reached the place.

Moreover, on Tuesday, Shiv Sena leaders Milind Narvekar and Ravindra Phatak, sent by Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, held discussions with the rebels at the hotel. Eknath Shinde also had a brief telephonic conversation with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday. Thackeray had appealed to Shinde to come back to Mumbai and sort out the differences. However, according to sources, Shinde had urged the Chief Minister that it was time to ally with the BJP. A senior BJP leader from Maharashtra on Tuesday late-night said, "We are shifting the MLAs to Guwahati for security reasons. Surat being very close to Mumbai may witness some backlash from angry Sena workers."

Eknath Shinde and some MLAs reached the hotel in Surat late at night on Monday, hours after Legislative Council polls which saw the BJP winning the fifth seat despite not having enough numbers in the Assembly. It was alleged by the coalition partners that cross-voting might have taken place in favour of the BJP from the ruling bloc besides support from Independent MLAs and those from smaller parties. On Tuesday evening, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut claimed 14 to 15 Sena MLAs, including some ministers, are with Shinde in Gujarat's Surat city.