Maharashtra is in the midst of political uncertainty after Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde and several other MLAs on Tuesday remained silent and revolted against the party, leaving major political parties in a tizzy. Shinde and other MLAs reached Guwahati in Assam this morning. Shinde insisted that he has 40 MLAs behind him.
Maharashtra minister Eknath Shinde and some MLAs arrived at the hotel in Surat late on Monday, hours after the Legislative Council elections in which the BJP won the fifth seat despite having insufficient representatives in the assembly, triggered a political crisis. This result could be due to questionable cross-voting from the ruling coalition, apart from the support of independent legislators and legislators from smaller parties. There are reports and speculation that Shinde and other MLAs may join the BJP in an attempt to overthrow the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.
host
Before taking off for Guwahati this morning, they were camping at a hotel in Surat. Eknath Shinde and other Shiv Sena MLAs were camping at Hotel Le Meridien in Surat. According to sources, Gujarat BJP unit chief CR Patil is behind Shinde’s rebellion against Uddhav Thackeray. When the Shiv Sena MLA reached Surat, he acted as a host. On the arrival of Shinde and his supporters, Patil canceled all his scheduled appointments. He reached Surat from Ahmedabad to monitor the developments. Additionally, the Gujarat Police beefed up security at the hotel where the Shiv Sena MLAs were staying.
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CR Patil was originally from Jalgaon in Maharashtra, but had migrated to Gujarat. The idea of Shinde and his supporters staying in a five-star hotel in Surat was designed by him. The BJP party was assured that adequate security would be provided to the rebel MLAs as Surat is CR Patil’s hometown. According to reports, CR Patil also met Eknath Shinde at a Surat hotel. During Shinde’s entire stay in Gujarat, C.R. Patel was in close touch with him.
CR Patil was appointed as the Gujarat State President in July 2020. The 67-year-old leader had joined the BJP in 1989. He is a three-time Lok Sabha MP and is currently representing the Navsari constituency in Gujarat. He is said to be very close to PM Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. He is one of the most influential “backroom boys” of PM Modi. Since 2014, Patil has been in charge of several important duties in electorally important Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, including being in charge of the PM’s constituency, Varanasi, and being involved in cleaning the Ganga Ghats in Varanasi.
On Wednesday, the focus shifted from Surat to Guwahati as 40 MLAs led by Shinde landed in the capital city of BJP-ruled Assam. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma landed in political trouble in Maharashtra when he visited the hotel where the Shiv Sena rebels were staying. Himanta Biswa Sarma visited Radisson Blu Hotel in Guwahati before the arrival of Maharashtra MLAs at the airport.
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BJP MLA Sushant Borgohain welcomes Shiv Sena MLAs at Guwahati airport. Former Congress MLA Sushant Borgohain joined the BJP on August 1, 2021. Borgohain is reportedly very close to CM Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Himanta Biswa Sarma is the most important figure of BJP in Northeast India. He is credited with aiding in the establishment of the party in an area where it did not previously exist. He has very good equations with all senior BJP leaders including PM Modi, Amit Shah and party president JP Nadda. The influence of Himanta Biswa Sarma can be seen in the BJP forming government on its own or in coalition in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya.
interlocutor
There have been reports that Shinde and other MLAs may join the BJP in an attempt to overthrow the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. According to BJP insiders, the responsibility of holding talks with Shinde and the rebel MLAs has been entrusted to two senior party leaders – Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav and party’s national general secretary CT Ravi.
Bhupendra Yadav is currently the Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Minister of Labor and Employment. He is a Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan. As for the BJP’s top leaders, he is known to have dealt with a range of problems and challenges, from assembly elections and organizational issues in crucial states, to representing the party’s interests in several parliamentary committees. Bhupendra Yadav has also held the post of National General Secretary of BJP in the past. He is regarded as an important party leader with vast experience in political maneuvering and negotiation.
CT Ravi is the National General Secretary of BJP and party in-charge of Maharashtra, Goa and Tamil Nadu. He has a very important role in the politically important Maharashtra state as he is looking after the affairs of the party in that state. In September 2020, he was appointed as the National General Secretary of BJP. In October 2020, he resigned as a minister from the BS Yediyurappa-led Karnataka government. CT Ravi has been a four-time MLA from Chikmagalur. In May, BJP’s Goa in-charge CT Ravi revealed that five additional opposition MLAs are in touch with the BJP and may join in if approved by the BJP high command. The BJP was successful in winning 20 seats in the 2022 assembly elections in the state. After forging an alliance with 2 MGP MLAs and 3 Independents, the party later increased its total to 25.