Maha Aghadi Mutiny: Rebel Shiv Sena MLAs flown to Guwahati

After reaching Guwahati, Eknath Shinde declared that he had the support of 40 MLAs. According to a BJP leader, the Shiv Sena MLAs were airlifted to Guwahati in order to avoid any confrontation with Sena party cadre.

Maha Aghadi Mutiny: Rebel Shiv Sena MLAs flown from Surat to Guwahati

Team Newsable

Surat, First Published Jun 22, 2022, 7:07 AM IST

Rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde and nearly 30 rebel party MLAs have checked out of the five-star hotel they were holed up in at Surat and were flown to Guwahati in Assam, sources said. After reaching Guwahati, Eknath Shinde declared that he had the support of 40 MLAs.

It is not clear why the Maharashtra rebel minister and other Shiv Sena MLAs, who were staying at a hotel on Dumas road in Gujarat's Surat city, had to be shifted to Guwahati by air. To note, Assam is a BJP-ruled state like Gujarat.

Also Read: Shiv Sena's internal matter, Uddhav Thackeray will resolve: Sharad Pawar

Sources said that the MLAs were taken to the airport in a luxury bus in the early hours of Wednesday before being flown to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's state.

The Shiv Sena had on Tuesday established contact with the rebel MLAs after Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray sent leaders Milind Narvekar and Ravindra Phatak to meet them. However, sources said, that the talks do not seem to have been successful.

According to a BJP leader, the Shiv Sena MLAs were airlifted to Guwahati in order to avoid any confrontation with the Sena party cadre. A senior BJP leader from Maharashtra told news agency PTI late Monday night that the MLAs were shifted to Guwahati for security reasons. Surat being very close to Mumbai may witness some backlash from angry Sena workers, the leader said.

Sources claimed that Maharashtra Urban Development minister Eknath Shinde had the support of 40-odd MLAs who had been camping with him in the Le Meridien hotel in Surat after leaving Mumbai on Monday evening.

There are reports doing the rounds that Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma may meet the MLAs during the day. The BJP, however, has not yet confirmed the meeting.

Meanwhile, tight security has been deployed in and around the Radisson Blu Hotel in Guwahati.

The departure from Mumbai came after the Legislative Council election that witnessed cross-voting as the BJP ended up winning the fifth seat despite not having enough numbers in the assembly. Sources said that could not have been possible unless there was cross-voting from the ruling bloc and support from Independent MLAs and smaller parties.

Also Read: 'Will never cheat...': Eknath Shinde shares cryptic tweet as Shiv Sena sacks him

Last Updated Jun 22, 2022, 8:59 AM IST