The Shiv Sena factions led by Eknath Shinde and Uddhav Thackeray separately claimed that they had sealed the Sena legislative party office in the Vidhan Bhavan here ahead of the special session which began on Sunday.
A white paper was stuck with plastic tape on the closed doors of the Sena legislative party office, with a message in Marathi written on it saying, "The office is closed as per instructions of the Shiv Sena legislative party.”
Earlier in the day, a source in the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde camp had claimed that they had sealed the legislative party office.
After BJP nominee Rahul Narvekar was elected as the Speaker with the Shinde faction also voting in his favor by defeating the MVA nominee, Shiv Sena MLA Aaditya Thackeray told reporters that it was the original Shiv Sena that had locked up the legislative party office.
Speaking in the evening, Shiv Sena chief spokesperson and MP Arvind Sawant said, “Some reports are claiming that the keys of the Shiv Sena legislative party office are with Eknath Shinde. These reports are false. We will open the office tomorrow”.
When contacted, the sources in the Shinde camp said "let's see".
The special two-day session of the Legislative Assembly began on Sunday with the agenda to elect the new Speaker, as the post has been lying vacant since last February.
On Monday, the four-day-old Eknath Shinde-BJP government faces a trust vote in the House.
