Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde claimed that 40 MLAs of the party have reached Assam and will carry Balasaheb Thackeray’s Hindutva on Wednesday.
Shinde along with the other MLAs arrived in Assam’s Guwahati earlier today from Surat in Gujarat where they were staying at a hotel following cross-voting in the Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC) polls.
The MLA’s remarks come amid speculations that he along with other MLAs might join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to topple the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, reported ANI.
After arriving in Guwahati, Shinde said, “A total of 40 Shiv Sena MLAs are present here. We will carry Balasaheb Thackeray's Hindutva.”
Meanwhile, they were received at the Guwahati airport by BJP MLA Sushanta Borgohain and MP Pallab Lochan Das.
Borgohain said, “I came to receive them. I have not counted how many MLAs have arrived. I came here for personal relations. They have not disclosed any program.”
It may be noted that the Shinde, addressing the media at Surat airport said that they have not left Balasaheb Thackeray's Shiv Sena.
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.”
Following the incident of cross-voting in the MLC elections, some MLAs and Eknath Shinde were “not reachable”, confirmed party’s MP Sanjay Raut.
In an apparent dig at Shiv Sena for joining hands with the Congress and NCP, Shinde had tweeted, “We are Balasaheb's staunch Shiv Sainiks ... 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.”
In the meantime, the Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil claimed that the state government is “technically in minority” with Shinde and other MLAs gone.
He said, “BJP got support from independents and small political parties for Rajya Sabha and MLC elections. As per our information, Eknath Shinde and 35 MLAs have gone. This means technically state government is in minority but practically it will take some time for the government to be in minority.”
“It's too early to say anything, we are currently waiting and keeping an eye on the situation. So far, there has not been any proposal regarding government formation neither from the BJP nor from Eknath Shinde but anything can happen in politics at any time,” the BJP leader added.
