Digital Desk: Shiv
Sena rebel minister Eknath Shinde fled to BJP-ruled Assam after claiming to
have the support of 40 of the party's 55 MLAs and six independents, throwing
the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra government into a serious political
crisis. Political unpredictability engulfed the Maharashtra government
yesterday as Shinde, a former Sena "loyalist," moved to a hotel in
BJP-ruled Gujarat with 21 MLAs. This occurred a day after the Sena-NCP-Congress
coalition was left reeling from the MLC elections, in which the BJP won five
seats and the Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party each won two.
The dissident MLAs have never before been transported to Assam outside of the northeast area. According to sources, the decision was made to relocate the rebel MPs from the BJP-ruled state of Gujarat to the Assam because the Shiv Sena has no supporters there and the likelihood of a protest is slim.
According to a BJP source, the MLAs were moved to Guwahati on security
reasons after being transported from Mumbai to Surat on Tuesday. Following the
dissidence of a group of its MLAs led by Shinde, the Shiv Sena-led government
in Maharashtra is in trouble.
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The majority bar in
the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly is 145, and there are currently
287 members due to the tragic death of Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke of Mumbai.
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The MVA has the
following strengths: Shiv Sena (55), NCP (53) and Congress (44). With the help
of independents and smaller parties, the controlling alliance has access to
about 169 MPs.
The BJP has 106
members, and with the help of independents and other parties, it has a total
strength of about 114.
In addition to the
MVA-BJP, there is a sizable 29-member group of MLAs who are independent or
belong to other parties and who have grown to be crucial to both the government
and the opposition. As was seen in this month's annual elections for both the
Rajya Sabha and Maharashtra Legislative Council, the remaining five are
officially unaffiliated to either group to maintain their "political
bargaining leverage."
What would occur if 40 Sena MLAs resigned?
The number of Sena's 55 MLAs will drop to 15 if the 40 dissident
MLAs led by Minister Eknath Shinde quit. The Maha Vikas Aghadi's strength in
the House will thereafter drop to 125 after this. As demonstrated by Sanjay
Raut of Sena and Prithviraj Chavan, Ashok Chavan, and various Congress members,
among others, the MVA allies have maintained a brave face and that the
government is not now under danger.
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