News Analysis India

Tag: Uddhav Thackeray

  • Eknath Shinde backstabbed me, says Uddhav

    By ANI

    MUMBAI: Days after he resigned as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday said Eknath Shinde, who led the rebellion with party MLAs to bring down Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, backstabbed him.

    Addressing Shiv Sena workers here, Thackeray said that he gave Shinde the responsibility of the party.

    “Shinde to whom I have given the responsibility of the party backstabbed me, while NCP and Congress remained with us. It is painful to see that those (MLAs and ministers) who won due to Sena workers and got everything has left him,” Thackeray told media persons here.

    Earlier in June this year, Eknath Shinde led a group of Sena MLAs against the MVA government, resulting in it losing its majority in the Maharashtra assembly. This also led Shiv Sena chief Thackeray to step down as CM ahead of a floor test.

    The new Eknath Shinde-led government in Maharashtra won the floor test on Monday by a 164-99 margin, proving his government’s majority and cementing his position as chief minister of the state and the leader of the Shiv Sena. 164 votes were polled in favour of Shinde, while 99 votes were polled against the newly formed BJP-Shinde camp coalition.

    The trust vote comes a day after BJP’s Rahul Narwekar was elected the Assembly Speaker. On Sunday Narwekar reinstated Shinde as the Shiv Sena’s legislative party leader and also recognized the appointment of Gogawale as the chief whip of the Shiv Sena.

    After the Maharashtra government won the trust vote in the state Assembly, Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde faction on Monday gave a petition to Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar for the suspension of 16 MLAs of the party belonging to Uddhav Thackeray’s camp for violation of whip.

    The Speaker’s office confirmed that 16 MLAs will be issued notice for suspension. Gogawale had also issued a whip to the party MLAs to remain present in the Vidhan Sabha for the floor test.

  • Had I requested, I could have become Maharashtra Chief Minister, says Fadnavis

    By ANI

    MUMBAI: Devendra Fadnavis, who was sworn in as Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister last week, said on Tuesday that it was his proposal to make Eknath Shinde the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

    “People used to think that BJP is eager for power, it is doing this for the post of CM, but despite having 106 MLAs, we made Eknath Shinde the CM. It’s my responsibility to ensure that Eknath Shinde is a successful CM,” Fadnavis said at a Press Conference.

    Fadnavis said he took the Deputy CM post after a discussion was held with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president JP Nadda as well as Union home minister Amit Shah. “The order of the party’s seniors was paramount to me and the BJP leadership believed that he should be part of the government,” he added.

    “One person has polluted the politics of Maharashtra and put state politics’ culture into a ditch, you know who that person is. He should self-respect,” he added.

    Putting rest to news reports claiming that Fadnavis is unhappy knowing Shinde being the Chief Minister of the State, Fadnavis today, while addressing a press conference said, “Had I requested, I could have become the Chief Minister. We made Shiv Sena’s representative as a Chief Minister for ideology…It was my proposal to make Shinde the CM.”

    “Senior party leaders insisted that government won’t run if I stayed out of it, so I accepted the Deputy Chief Ministerial post on their command,” said Fadnavis.

    Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde on Monday won the floor test in the state Assembly on the last day of the two-day special session of the House. In the 288-member House, 164 MLAs voted for the motion of confidence, while 99 voted against it. Three legislators abstained from voting, while Congress’s Ashok Chavan and Vijay Wadettiwar were among those absent during the trust vote.

    Shinde was sworn in as CM on June 30, a day after Uddhav Thackeray quit the post. BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as the deputy CM.

    Rahul Narvekar of the BJP was on Sunday elected Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly during the first day of its special session.

    Narvekar, who polled 164 votes, defeated Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena candidate Rajan Salvi, who got 107 votes.

    The Speaker’s post was lying vacant since February last year after Nana Patole of the Congress resigned.

    Narvekar (45) is the youngest ever Assembly Speaker in the country, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said.

    Last month, Eknath Shinde launched a rebellion against the party. The majority of MLAs sided with him, which led to the collapse of the MVA government led by Uddhav Thackeray.

    Eknath Shinde was on Thursday sworn in as the 20th chief minister of Maharashtra, while BJP stalwart Devendra Fadnavis took oath as the deputy CM. 

  • ‘We will go in the people’s court’: Uddhav dares BJP to hold mid-term polls in Maharashtra

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: On a day the Eknath Shinde-led government won the trust vote in the Maharashtra Assembly, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Monday targeted the BJP saying it was scheming to finish his party, and dared it to hold mid-term elections in the state.

    Addressing a meeting of Sena district presidents at the Shiv Sena Bhawan here, the former chief minister, who had to resign due to Shinde’s revolt, said it was an insult to the Constitution to run the Legislative Assembly arbitrarily.

    As per a statement issued by the Shiv Sena, Thackeray told the Sena district presidents to stay together if they want to put up a fight.

    “The BJP is trying to finish Shiv Sena. I dare them to hold mid-term polls in the state. Instead of playing all these games, we will go in the people’s court. If we are wrong, people will send us home and if you (BJP and Shinde group) are wrong, people will send you home,” the statement said quoting Thackeray.

    He also asked experts to express their views on whether Constitution norms are followed in the state or otherwise.

    Last month, Eknath Shinde launched a rebellion against the Sena.

    The majority of MLAs sided with him, which led to the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government led by Uddhav Thackeray.

    Shinde was sworn in as the chief minister on June 30, a day after Thackeray quit the post.

    BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as the deputy CM.

    Meanwhile, Uddhav Thackeray’s son Aaditya said the Sena will not be finished just because some people have left the party.

    He also said that Maharashtra might face mid-term elections along with Gujarat elections, due in December this year.

    “It is evident (in the floor test) that the whip issued by Shiv Sena was violated.

    That is why we have taken some action against it,” Aaditya told reporters at the Sena Bhavan.

    The Worli MLA said the MLAs who had joined the Shinde faction will soon realise their “blunder” when they visit their constituencies and face people.

    “They are born in this party and their destiny is intertwined with Sena,” he added.

  • Notice issued to MLAs of Uddhav camp for not voting for Shinde in trust vote, Aaditya excluded

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: After winning the trust vote in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, the Eknath Shinde faction of Shiv Sena on Monday night issued a notice to 14 legislators from the Uddhav Thackeray camp for violating a whip issued by Shiv Sena chief whip and Shinde loyalist Bharat Gogawale.

    The notice, however, excluded the name of Aaditya Thackeray, son of party chief Uddhav Thackeray, “out of respect”. The whip issued by Gogawale had asked all the MLAs of Shiv Sena to vote for Eknath Shinde in the trust vote.

    Gogawale was recognised as the chief whip of Shiv Sena by Maharashtra Speaker Rahul Narvekar on Sunday, a day before the floor test.

    “It is true that we have issued a notice for the violation of the whip to Shiv Sena MLAs who did not vote for CM Shinde. However, we have omitted the name of Aaditya from it out of respect,” Gogawale told PTI.

    He said all Shiv Sena MLAs, including those in the Uddhav Thackeray camp, had worked together for a long time with Uddhav and Aaditya Thackeray. “We respect them. But they should have addressed our concerns,” he added.

    The Shiv Sena had 55 MLAs before the rebellion in the 288-member Assembly, whose current strength is 287 due to the death of a Sena legislator.

    In the trust vote, 164 MLAs voted for the motion of confidence while 99 voted against it.

  • Shinde-Fadnavis government passes Maharashtra floor test; one more Shiv Sena MLA joins rebel camp

    By Online Desk

    MUMBAI: The Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government on Monday passed the floor Test in Maharashtra Assembly.

    Ahead of the trust vote, one more Shiv Sena MLA from the Uddhav Thackeray camp joined CM Shinde’s faction, taking its tally to 40.

    The Shiv Sena currently has 55 MLAs in the 288-member state Assembly.

    Santosh Bangar, the MLA from Kalamnuri in Hingoli district, on Monday morning switched over to the Shinde camp.

    Earlier, in a jolt to Uddhav Thackeray ahead of the Eknath Shinde-led government’s floor test, Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar had on Sunday reinstated Shinde as the Shiv Sena legislature party leader, removing Ajay Chaudhary.

    Narvekar also recognised the appointment of Bharat Gogawale from the Shinde camp as the chief whip of the Sena, removing Sunil Prabhu, who belongs to the Thackeray faction.

    The development comes as a major setback to the Thackeray faction, which will be bound by the whip to be issued by Gogawale for the trust vote.

    If these MLAs refuse to follow the whip, they face disqualification.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • Eknath Shinde government clears Maharashtra Speaker poll test, trust vote on Monday

    Express News Service

    MUMBAI:  Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday won the first round of his fight against the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena in the state Assembly when his government managed to get the ruling coalition’s candidate elected as Speaker. 

    The government is scheduled to take its confidence vote on Monday. BJP’s candidate Rahul Narwekar won by 57 votes against Maha Vikas Aghadi’s joint candidate Rajan Salvi.

    Narvekar was supported by the Shinde group. He got 167 votes against Salvi’s 107. SP and MIM members abstained. Besides, seven NCP MLAs were absent, including Nawab Malik and Anil Deshmukh, who are in jail. Two members each from BJP and Congress failed to show up.

    Thackeray’s Sena asked acting speaker Narhari Zirwal to take on record that 39 Sena MLAs in the Shinde camp cross-voted against the party whip. Parallelly, the Shinde camp put on record that 16 Sena MLAs crossed-voted. Deepak Kesarkar, spokesperson of the Shinde camp, said its chief whip Bharat Gogawale had asked all Sena MLAs to vote Narwekar, who has become the youngest Speaker of Maharashtra. 

    Constitutional experts said since both camps have complained against cross-voting, the Speaker will hear the matter and give his verdict. “Only after that can they can approach a court against the Speaker’s decision, if necessary,”

    Meanwhile, Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant on Sunday wondered whether the proper Constitutional procedure was followed to elect the new Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly and said questions are raised regarding how the Shiv Sena rebel faction is trying to appropriate the original party.

    Rahul Narvekar of the BJP was on Sunday elected Speaker on the first day of its special session with MLAs from the Eknath Shinde faction also voting in his favour.

    Narvekar, who polled 164 votes, defeated Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena candidate Rajan Salvi, who got 107 votes.

    “The dispute between the 39 rebel MLAs of Shiv Sena and 16 legislators who stayed with the original party will be resolved only in the Supreme Court. There are several questions of legitimacy the way the Eknath Shinde government came to power (in alliance with BJP) and carried out the Speaker’s election. Did the entire procedure take place within the framework of the Constitution?” Sawant, also chief spokesperson of Shiv Sena, questioned.

    He said the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena had even issued a whip (asking all the MLAs to vote in favour of Salvi) but the rebel MLAs did not budge.

    “We have complained against them to the Speaker,” he said.

    Commenting on Shinde-led Sena MLAs’ stand, Sawant said, “This may be the first such case wherein the rebels are calling their faction as the original party.”

    Shiv Sena factions led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his predecessor Uddhav Thackeray, who heads the party, had issued separate whips to the party legislators to vote in favour of their respective candidates during the state Assembly Speaker’s election.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • Shiv Sena factions claim they sealed legislative party office in Maha Vidhan Bhavan

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: 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 favour by defeating the MVA nominee, Shiv Sena MLA Aaditya Thackeray told reporters that it was the original Shiv Sena which 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.

  • Maharashtra Assembly session from today; Shinde government to face floor test on July 4

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The four-day-old Shiv Sena-BJP government will face the floor test on July 4 during the special two-day session of the Legislative Assembly beginning here Sunday.

    The election to the post of the Speaker of the House will be held Sunday after the House proceedings begin at 11 am, an official said.

    Sena MLA and Uddhav Thackeray loyalist Rajan Salvi is the candidate of the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress combine for the Speaker’s election. He is pitted against first-time BJP legislator Rahul Narvekar.

    ALSO READ: BJP made Eknath Shinde Maharashtra CM to wrest Mumbai from Shiv Sena, claims Raut

    Rebel Shiv Sena MLAs who support Shinde returned to Mumbai from Goa on Saturday evening on the eve of the Assembly session, and were lodged in a luxury hotel in south Mumbai, where Vidhan Bhavan, venue of the floor test, is located.

    NCP chief Sharad Pawar claimed that Narhari Zirwal, the deputy Speaker, can perform officiating Speaker’s duties even though a no-confidence motion is pending against him. The post of Speaker is vacant since February last year after Nana Patole of Congress quit.

    As many as 50 MLAs who support Shinde, including 39 rebel legislators of the Shiv Sena, on Saturday evening flew to Mumbai from Goa by a chartered flight.

    ALSO READ: MVA fields Sena’s Rajan Salvi for Assembly Speaker post against BJP’s Rahul Narvekar

    Shinde, who had flown to Goa in the morning, accompanied them back. Shinde has the support of 10 legislators of smaller parties and independents and 106 MLAs of the BJP in the 288-member House.

    Following is the party position in the Assembly: Shiv Sena 55, NCP 53, Congress 44, BJP 106, Bahujan Vikas Aghadi 3, Samajwadi Party 2, AIMIM 2, Prahar Janshakti Party 2, MNS 1, CPI (M) 1, PWP 1, Swambhimani Paksha 1, Rashtriya Samaj Paksha 1, Jansurajya Shakti Party 1, Krantikari Shetkari Party 1, and Independents 13.

    There is a vacancy due to the death of Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke last month. Two NCP members – Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and Food and Civil Supplies Minister Chhagan Bhujbal – have tested COVID-19 positive, while two other party legislators – Anil Deshmukh and Nawab Malik – are currently in jail.

    ALSO READ: Eknath Shinde, rebel Maharashtra MLAs paid Guwahati hotel bills before leaving

  • A day ahead of special Assembly session, rebel Sena MLAs reach Mumbai with CM Shinde

    By Online Desk

    PANAJI: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde along with his faction of MLAs have reached Mumbai from Goa where the rebel Shiv Sena legislators were camping after returning from Assam.

    This comes after Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday expelled Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde from the party for indulging in “anti-party activities”.

    “In exercise of powers vested in me as Shiv Sena party president, I remove you from the post of Shiv Sena leader in the party organisation,” Thackeray wrote in a letter addressed to the Maharashtra CM, who had led a faction of rebel Sena MLAs.

    In a virtual address to the public on Friday, Thackeray said that if Union Home Minister Amit Shah had stuck to the original deal of making a Sena leader CM for 2.5 years there would have been no MVA and a BJP leader would have been Chief Minister today.

    “About what happened yesterday, I had told Amit Shah earlier as well that there should be a Shiv Sena CM for 2.5 years (during Shiv Sena-BJP alliance). Had they done this earlier, there would’ve been no Maha Vikas Aghadi,” he said.

    ALSO READ | Eknath Shinde to legally challenge his removal as Shiv Sena leader, says rebel MLA

    Meanwhile, the BJP is preparing to ensure that its Colaba MLA Rahul Narvekar is chosen as Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly in the election to be held on Sunday — and official recognition is granted to the rebel Shiv Sena group led by Shinde ahead of the trust vote to be held a day later. The Maha Vikas Aghadi, meanwhile, has fielded Shiv Sena MLA Rajan Salvi. Eknath Shinde, who took oath as the chief minister of Maharashtra on Thursday, will have to prove his majority in the state Assembly on Monday. A special session of the Maharashtra Assembly will be held on 3 and 4 July.

    Sources close to ANI mentioned that a special session of the Maharashtra Assembly is to be held on July 3 and 4. Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has asked CM Shinde to prove his majority on the floor of the House.

    On June 20, Uddhav Thackeray was surprised when he realised that Eknath Shinde had flown to Surat in BJP-ruled Gujarat along with 11 MLAs. They were put up at the luxury hotel, which had turned into a fortress of sorts with nearly 400 policemen guarding it.

    Amid growing speculation about the rebel camp’s intentions, Shinde broke his silence and said that all the MLAs remained “staunch Shiv Sainiks” and “would never betray the ideals of Balasaheb” (the Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray for power. Later, Shinde decided to shift its camp to Goa.

  • Ahead of special Assembly session, rebel Sena MLAs reach Mumbai with CM Shinde

    By Online Desk

    PANAJI: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde along with his faction of MLAs have reached Mumbai from Goa where the rebel Shiv Sena legislators were camping after returning from Assam.

    This comes after Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday expelled Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde from the party for indulging in “anti-party activities”.

    “In exercise of powers vested in me as Shiv Sena party president, I remove you from the post of Shiv Sena leader in the party organisation,” Thackeray wrote in a letter addressed to the Maharashtra CM, who had led a faction of rebel Sena MLAs.

    In a virtual address to the public on Friday, Thackeray said that if Union Home Minister Amit Shah had stuck to the original deal of making a Sena leader CM for 2.5 years there would have been no MVA and a BJP leader would have been Chief Minister today.

    “About what happened yesterday, I had told Amit Shah earlier as well that there should be a Shiv Sena CM for 2.5 years (during Shiv Sena-BJP alliance). Had they done this earlier, there would’ve been no Maha Vikas Aghadi,” he said.

    ALSO READ | Eknath Shinde to legally challenge his removal as Shiv Sena leader, says rebel MLA

    Meanwhile, the BJP is preparing to ensure that its Colaba MLA Rahul Narvekar is chosen as Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly in the election to be held on Sunday — and official recognition is granted to the rebel Shiv Sena group led by Shinde ahead of the trust vote to be held a day later. The Maha Vikas Aghadi, meanwhile, has fielded Shiv Sena MLA Rajan Salvi. Eknath Shinde, who took oath as the chief minister of Maharashtra on Thursday, will have to prove his majority in the state Assembly on Monday. A special session of the Maharashtra Assembly will be held on 3 and 4 July.

    Sources close to ANI mentioned that a special session of the Maharashtra Assembly is to be held on July 3 and 4. Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has asked CM Shinde to prove his majority on the floor of the House.

    On June 20, Uddhav Thackeray was surprised when he realised that Eknath Shinde had flown to Surat in BJP-ruled Gujarat along with 11 MLAs. They were put up at the luxury hotel, which had turned into a fortress of sorts with nearly 400 policemen guarding it.

    Amid growing speculation about the rebel camp’s intentions, Shinde broke his silence and said that all the MLAs remained “staunch Shiv Sainiks” and “would never betray the ideals of Balasaheb” (the Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray for power. Later, Shinde decided to shift its camp to Goa.