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Eknath Shinde’s journey from being a Sena loyalist to rebel leader

Eknath Shinde’s journey from being a Sena loyalist to rebel leader
India2 min read
  • Eknath Shinde fled to Assam this morning along with 46 MLA supporters and has heaped a crisis onto the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government of Maharashtra.
  • He clarified via tweet that he will continue to be a Bal Thackeray supporter.
  • According to media reports, he was unhappy with how the party was being run and he was being ‘marginalized’.
Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde, with the support of over 40 other members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), heaped a crisis onto the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government of Maharashtra. The government is a tripartite alliance between Shiv Sena, NCP and the Congress parties.

However, Shinde on his social media revealed that he will continue to be a Bal Thackeray supporter and will never compromise with his principles for political gains.

“I have support of 46 MLAs including independents,” Shinde told NDTV.

As of now, he has fled to Assam, is a BJP-led state, early in the morning along with his supporters. Before that, he has been staying at a hotel in Surat. Assam BJP leaders are making arrangements for the rebel Shiv Sena MLAs accommodation in Guwahati.
Treatment given to ‘old Sainiks’
According to sources, Shinde took his decision to fly to Guwahati after having a telephonic conversation with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray demanding alliance with the BJP party and jointly ruling the state.

The Shiv Sena, which heads the MVA, has 55 MLAs, followed by allies NCP with 53 and the Congress with 44 in the 288-assembly where the current simple majority mark is 144.

According to media reports, he was unhappy with how the party was being run and the treatment being given to ‘old Sainiks’ like him. A top department official claims that Shinde was upset as he was being ‘marginalized’.

He is the chairperson of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). However, environment minister Aditya Thackerary, the son of the ruling CM, Uddhav Thackeray often attended MMRDA meetings along with its commissioner – upsetting Shinde.
The Pawar-Raut party problems
Shinde was never happy with the Sena’s decision to join forces with the NCP.

In addition to that, Shinde, who already had Z category security, was also keen to get ‘Z plus’ security. In spite of his close ties with the Thackeray family, he was restricted entry into the Thackeray residence in Bandra for the past two years — another factor that had upset him.

Shinde had been repeatedly complaining about party meetings with the Maharashtra CM and the party chief.

“They don’t keep in touch. If there’s a problem, who can they tell? Shiv Sena is becoming a hanger of NCP. In a way, the work of chief minister is performed by Ajit Pawar and that of party chief is performed by Sanjay Raut,” a party leader said.

SEE ALSO:
Rebel Sena MLAs arrive in Assam as Maharashtra political crisis continues
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