Rebel Shiv Sena MLAs with Maha CM Eknath Shinde leave for Mumbai from Goa

A group of rebel Maharashtra Shiv Sena MLAs and Independents led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday evening left for Mumbai from Goa in a chartered flight.

The MLAs, led by Shinde, left for the airport at Dabolim from the starred hotel in Dona Paula where they had been camping since June 29 in two buses.

The chartered flight took off at 7:10 PM, airport officials said.

In Mumbai, security has been tightened at the airport to avoid any untoward incident against the backdrop of protests by Shiv Sena cadres in the recent past.

These MLAs are expected to attend the special two-day session of the Maharashtra Assembly beginning July 3 during which a new Speaker will be elected and the newly-formed Eknath Shinde government will face the vote of confidence.

The breakaway MLAs had landed in Goa from Guwahati with Shinde on June 29 amid the political crisis in Maharashtra.

On Wednesday, the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government collapsed following the resignation of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray a day before the floor test.

Shinde took oath as the CM on Thursday with Devendra Fadnavis of BJP as his deputy.