All 37 rebel Shiv Sena MLAs who are camping in Guwahati on Thursday sent a letter to Maharashtra Assembly's Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal, stating that Eknath Shinde will remain their group leader in legislature.
Earlier in the day, Zirwal had said that he had approved the appointment of Ajay Chaudhary as the group leader of the Shiv Sena legislature party, replacing senior minister Shinde who has rebelled against the Shiv Sena leadership.
Shinde on Thursday evening sent a letter to the deputy speaker, signed by 36 Sena MLAs who are currently staying with him in Guwahati.
The suspense continues over the Maha Vikas Aghadi(MVA) government in Maharashtra with Shiv Sena on Thursday urging its rebel MLAs to return to the state from Assam, saying the party is open to reconsider quitting the alliance.
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said CM Uddhav Thackeray is ready discuss their grievances, indicating a big shift in stand that surprised ally Congress, while the NCP said it wants the coalition government to complete its term.
Reaching out to rebel MLAs, Raut, who is the Shiv Sena's chief spokesperson, said the party's "doors are open" to them, and all issues raised by them can be resolved through talks.
As political crisis in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, triggered by Shiv Sena cabinet minister Eknath Shinde's revolt three days ago, raged three more MLAs of the party left for Guwahati in the BJP-ruled Assam to join the rebel camp.
A day after Thackeray made an emotional appeal to rebel MLAs of his party and offered to resign in a bid to placate them, his trusted aide Raut indicated the Shiv Sena is ready to consider leaving the MVA headed by it, a demand put forward by Shinde who has dubbed the three-party bloc as an "unnatural" alliance.
"You say you are real Shiv Sainiks and will not quit the party. We are ready to consider your demand provided you come back to Mumbai within 24 hours and discuss the issue with CM Uddhav Thackeray. Your demand will be considered positively. Don't write letters on Twitter and WhatsApp," Raut said.
"The rebels who are out of Mumbai have raised the issue of Hindutva. If all these MLAs feel that Shiv Sena should walk out of the MVA, show guts to come back to Mumbai. You say you have issues only with the government and also say that you are true Shiv Sainiks...Your demand will be considered. But come and talk with Uddhav Thackeray," he added.
In a tweet in Marathi later, Raut said, 'Why wander aimlessly. The doors are open and issues can be resolved amicably through talks. Let's take a decision with self-respect instead of accepting slavery."
Reacting to Raut's comments on his party considering quitting the MVA, Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan said he did not think Chief Minister Thackeray, who also heads the Shiv Sena, would do an "about-turn" and agree to the rebel MLAs' demand that the party pull out of the ruling alliance.
"Does Sena want to join hands with the BJP in Maharashtra? The motives of Shiv Sena are not yet clear," Chavan, a former chief minister, told reporters.
"I have not heard Uddhav Thackeray sounding like this in his Wednesday evening's public address. I would be surprised if Uddhav Thackeray does such an about-turn in less than 24 hours. I don't think that Thackeray would do that," he said.
It was not even clear whether Raut was articulating the Sena's official stand," Chavan added.
"There is not even clarity about which faction of the Shiv Sena should be considered as authentic face of the party (in view of the rebellion)," the Congress leader added.
State NCP president Jayant Patil, meanwhile, said his party had not yet discussed Raut's comments
"But we want this government to complete its full term as it has taken some good decisions," he added.
"Those who leave Sena lose the election later," Patil, a state minister, added.
On the rebel Sena MLAs' stand that they did not wish to be a part of the MVA because of the "corruption" of NCP and Congress ministers, Patil said the statements of individual legislators should not be treated as the Sena's official stand.
Praful Patel, another NCP leader, said party chief Sharad Pawar "formed the MVA and he still wishes that it remains intact."
Three more Shiv Sena MLAs - Deepak Kesakar (MLA from Sawantwadi), Mangesh Kudalkar (Chembur) and Sada Sarvankar (Dadar) took a morning flight from Mumbai for Guwahati, a close associate of Shinde said.
On Wednesday evening, four MLAs, including Maharashtra minister Gulabrao Patil, had flown to Guwahati.
After reaching Guwahati, Shinde had claimed the support of 46 legislators, including some Independents. The rebel leader had given a letter to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly's deputy speaker, signed by 35 Sena MLAs, replacing Sunil Prabhu with Bharat Gogavale as the chief whip of the Shiv Sena legislature party.
Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal said he has approved the appointment of Ajay Choudhary as the Shiv Sena's group leader in the House, replacing rebel legislator Shinde.
The Shiv Sena on Tuesday removed Shinde as the party's group leader in the Assembly, hours after he revolted and and travelled to Surat in Gujarat with some Shiv Sena MLAs, triggering a crisis in the ruling alliance.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Zirwal said, "I have received a letter from the Shiv Sena, informing me that it is appointing Ajay Choudhary as the party's leader in the Assembly and removing Shinde from the post with immediate effect."
Shiv Sena MLA Kailas Patil, who had escaped from a car carrying rebel legislators to Surat on Monday night, claimed in Mumbai that some of those siding with Shinde might be wanting to return, but were forced to stay back.
Another Sena MLA Sanjay Shirsat has written a letter to the Chief Minister claiming Shinde took the step of going against the party leadership as party MLAs, who faced "humilitation" for the last two-and-a-half years, persuaded him to do so.
Shirsat, the MLA from Aurangabad (West) Assembly constituency, in the letter claimed despite the Shiv Sena heading the MVA and having its own chief minister, the coterie around Thackeray never allowed them access to 'Varsha', the CM's official residence.
Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole accuses Deputy CM Ajit Pawar of harassment amid crisis
Patole accused Pawar of harassing Congress legislators and ministers by stalling their development funds.
Patole's statement was in reference to some rebel Shiv Sena MLAs targeting the NCP for denying development funds to them.
NCP and Congress are part of the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. Ajit Pawar is the state finance minister.
"Ajit Pawar has harassed Congress MLAs and ministers also. We opposed this tactics saying the government was for the welfare of people. Our opposition to such tactic was not political," Patole said.
When asked about Patole's allegation, senior NCP leader and minister Chhagan Bhujbal played down his remarks saying, "Even within parties, leaders complain against each other. So this is not anything that can be taken seriously."
The MVA government is on the brink of collapse after Shiv Sena minister Eknath Shinde rebelled against the party and went to Guwahati in Assam with some rebel MLAs.
Rebel Sena MLA Sanjay Shirsat has written a letter to CM Thackeray claiming that Shinde took the step of going against the party leadership as Sena MLAs, who faced "humilitation" for the last two-and-a-half years, persuaded him to do so. In the letter, Shirsat also said Shinde opened doors for the party MLAs to listen to their grievances, issues about development work in their constituencies and related fund, and problems with allies Congress and NCP.
Congress’s Ashok Chavan says the party will continue to support MVA in the state
Amid rebellion by Shiv Sena strongman Eknath Shinde, Maharashtra PWD minister Ashok Chavan of the Congress said his party's support to the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will continue and asserted that the state Assembly, and not hotels, was the appropriate place to decide if a government was in a majority or minority.
The revolt by Shinde, a Cabinet minister who has claimed the support of 37 rebel Shiv Sena MLAs, has pushed the two-and-a-half-year old Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government into a grave crisis.
"We (the Congress) formed the MVA with the Shiv Sena and the NCP to stop the BJP (from coming to power). Our support to the MVA continues," Chavan said.
He was talking to told reporters after a meeting of Congress leaders called to discuss the prevailing political situation in the state.
The state minister said whether the Shiv Sena-led MVA government has been reduced to a minority or not cannot be decided from hotels as the floor of the House was the right forum to determine support enjoyed by a government.
Rebel Shiv Sena MLAs are camping in a hotel in Guwahati in the BJP-ruled Assam.
Asked whether the MVA was ready for a floor test, Chavan said a decision in this regard will have to be taken by the three allies who constitute the ruling alliance.
He said the issue hasn't been discussed so far inside the coalition.
Earlier in the day, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut indicated his party was open to consider leaving the MVA if rebel MLAs come back to Mumbai and holds talks with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
(With PTI inputs)
