Maharashtra crisis: Pawar meets Thackeray as rebels claim majority

No national party in contact with us, says Eknath Shinde

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar on Friday met Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray at the latter’s residence amid the political crisis caused by Sena leader Eknath Shinde's rebellion.

State NCP president Jayant Patil and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar accompanied Pawar as he arrived at ‘Matoshree’.

Meanwhile, Shinde, a day after claiming that a “powerful national party” was supporting his group of MLAs in the political drama in Maharashtra, said no national party was in contact with them. Asked if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was backing his group, Shinde told a TV channel, “When I said a big power is backing us, I meant the power of Balasaheb Thackeray and (late Shiv Sena leader) Anand Dighe.” 

“Out of 55 Shiv Sena MLAs, 40 have come with me to Guwahati. In a democracy, the majority and numbers count. So nobody has the right to take any action against us,” Shinde said, when asked about the Sena approaching the Assembly Deputy Speaker for action against the rebel MLAs.

Even as the Shiv Sena-led MVA dispensation is currently facing a survival crisis due to a rebellion by Shinde, the departments — mostly controlled by allies NCP and Con­gress — have issued government orders for the release of funds worth thousands of crores in the past four days for development-related works.

Thackeray expressed determination to fight the crisis  and took on  Shinde, saying the rebel leader’s son is a Lok Sabha MP and should his son Aaditya not also grow politically as both sides showed no signs of backing down to break the impasse.