Maharashtra Political Crisis: 'I Have the Support of 46 Lawmakers', Says Rebel State Minister

The Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in the state of Maharashtra in western India appears to be on the brink of collapse, since Shiv Sena politician Eknath Shinde moved to Gujarat along with several other party legislators. On the other hand, Sanjay Raut, the Sena's chief trouble-shooter, has hinted at dissolving the state assembly.

Rebel Shiv Sena politician Eknath Shinde in India's Maharashtra state has claimed that 46 legislators are supporting him against State Chief Uddhav Thackeray.

He has said 40 of the 46 lawmakers belong to Shiv Sena, while the others are Independents.

"I have support of 46 MLAs (lawmakers) including Independents," Shinde, the architect of current political crisis in Shiv Sena-led Maharashtra, told Indian news outlet NDTV on Wednesday.

The number of legislators reportedly backing Shinde is significant for both him and the Sena.

According to India's strict anti-defection law, a rebel group should have the support of more than 66 percent of the party's lawmakers to be recognized as a separate entity in the state legislature.

In this case, Shinde would require the support of a minimum of 37 lawmakers to avoid being held responsible for violating the anti-defection law.

The Shiv Sena currently has 55 legislators in the Maharashtra assembly.

On Tuesday, Shiv Sena removed him as the party's Chief Whip.

Shinde immediately hit back by removing Shiv Sena from his social media bio. Just ahead of it, he had posted on the micro-blogging site that he wasn't quitting the party.

The lawmaker from Thane declared that he was following late party founder Balasaheb Thackeray's path of "Hindutva", and that he would never cheat to attain power.

"Balasaheb has taught us Hindutva. We have never and will never cheat for power regarding Balasaheb's thoughts and Dharmaveer Anand Dighe Saheb's teachings," he tweeted.

Since then, Shiv Sena's rebel lawmakers, including Shinde, have shifted their base from Gujarat to Assam state, another state where BJP is in power.

Meanwhile, State Chief Uddhav Thackeray convened an emergency meeting of the Maharashtra cabinet on Wednesday to decide the way forward for his party and the government.

However, speculation is rife that he may step down from his post as state chief after discussing the current situation with his party's allies, the Indian National Congress (INC) and the Nationalist Congress Party (INC).

The Shiv Sena has blamed the BJP for engineering the rebellion in its ranks, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party has denied the claim. The BJP is the main opposition party in Maharashtra.

Shiv Sena Lawmaker Urges Party to Renew Old Ties With BJP

Amid the political crisis which has hit the party, a Shiv Sena lawmaker, Pratap Sarnaik, has urged party chief Thackeray to renew its relationship with the BJP.

"I had first mooted the idea that the Shiv Sena should go with the BJP," Sarnaik told media persons on Wednesday.

Sarnaik, a legislator from Thane's Ovala-Majiwada constituency, had last year requested Thackeray to team up with the BJP.

The BJP and Sena were allies for nearly three decades before a bitter fallout over the state chief's chair ended their partnership in 2019.

The current regime in Maharashtra has three constituents -- the Shiv Sena, Congress, and the NCP. While Sena has 55 legislators, the NCP and INC have 54 and 44 lawmakers. The BJP has 106 out of the 288 legislators.