General News

Maharashtra assembly is headed for dissolution: Sanjay Raut

June 22, 2022
Bharat Times English News

MumbaiShiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Wednesday hinted at dissolving the state assembly amid intensifying political crisis in Maharashtra. Sanjay Raut said in a Twitter post, “The current political crisis in Maharashtra is moving towards the dissolution of the assembly.”



His tweet came amid back-to-back meetings of Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP legislators in Mumbai over the rapidly changing political developments in the state. However, on the contrary, Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal ruled out mid-term elections in the state. Bhujbal said, “Mid-term elections? No talks yet. What can I say?”



In Aurangabad, women activists of Shiv Sena weep and cry against rebel leader Eknath Shinde, which has led to instability in the MVA government in the state.

Sources said 40 MLAs from Maharashtra, including 33 Shiv Sena and seven independent MLAs, signed a letter calling for their support to rebel Shiv Sena leader and state cabinet minister Eknath Shinde.

Sources further said that the rebel MLAs may write to Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari demanding a floor test in the state assembly. 40 MLAs led by Shinde arrived at a luxury hotel in Guwahati in BJP-ruled Assam on Wednesday.

The rebellion in the Shiv Sena has given rise to speculations that Shinde along with other MLAs may join the BJP to topple the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

The MLAs are now staying at the Radisson Blu Hotel in the city. After reaching Guwahati, Shinde said, “A total of 40 MLAs are present here. We will take forward Balasaheb Thackeray’s Hindutva.” BJP MLA Sushant Borgohain and BJP MP Pallab Lochan Das welcomed the Shiv Sena MLAs at the Guwahati airport.

In view of the recent political developments in Maharashtra, Congress appointed its senior leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath as All India Congress Committee (AICC) observer in the state.

On the other hand, when Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar was asked about the crisis in the MVA, he termed the turmoil as an “internal matter of the Shiv Sena”. Pawar also said that he is fully committed to the three-party government. He also ruled out any alliance with the opposition BJP.

The developments came after suspicious cross-voting in the Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC) elections, in which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dealt a major blow to the MVA coalition government. The NCP and Shiv Sena won two seats each, while the Congress managed to capture one seat out of the total 10 seats in the Legislative Council where voting was held on Monday.

After the MLC elections, Shinde was staying at Le Meridien Hotel in Surat along with some other Shiv Sena MLAs.

The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly has a total of 288 members. So half way to form the government is 145. BJP is the single largest party in the house with 106 MLAs. Shiv Sena has 55 MLAs, NCP 53, Congress 44 and Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) has three MLAs in the assembly. After the death of a Shiv Sena MLA, there are currently 287 MLAs in the Assembly and now 144 MLAs are needed to form the government.

Before the rebellion, the Shiv Sena-led MVA government had the support of 169 MLAs, while the BJP-led opposition camp had 113 MLAs besides five others.

The BJP and Shiv Sena used to be allies until 2019, when the two parted ways over the chief minister’s post after contesting the Maharashtra assembly elections together. After days of political impasse and high-voltage drama, the Shiv Sena finally formed a government with the Congress and the NCP, with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray leading the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition government.