Rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde, who arrived in Guwahati earlier on Wednesday, has settled in at luxury hotel Radisson Blu in the city amid tight security arrangements.
Shinde arrived in Guwahati from Surat in Gujarat along with 33 Shiv Sena and seven independent MLAs. Having arrived at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled state of Assam, Shinde was received by the party’s Sushanta Borgohain and Pallab Lochan Das.
The sudden development comes amid speculations of the Maharashtra cabinet minister joining the BJP in a bid to topple the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra.
Having landed at the Guwahati airport, Shinde said, “A total of 40 MLAs are present here. We will carry Balasaheb Thackeray's Hindutva.”
Reacting to the crisis in MVA, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar said that it was “an internal matter of the Sena”.
Ruling out any tie-up with the opposition BJP, Pawar said that he remains committed to the three-party government.
Meanwhile, the Congress on Tuesday deputed senior leader and former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Kamal Nath as an observer of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in the state to end the crisis.
It may be noted that Shiv Sena legislators along with Shinde were staying at a hotel in Surat after the incident of cross-voting in the Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC) elections. They flew in to Guwahati from there earlier today.
Before leaving for Guwahati, Shinde assured that they were not leaving the party. He said, “We have not left Balasaheb Thackeray's Shiv Sena and will not leave it.”
“We have been following Balasaheb's Hindutva and will carry it further,” he said.
