Dissident Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde, on Wednesday, received the backing of 34 MLAs who signed a resolution, unanimously stating that they are with Shinde in his act of revolt and demand that the Sena forms the government in alliance with the BJP.
In the letter, they said they have been facing "humiliating questions" from their voters over the alliance formed with the NCP and the Congress.
The resolution, signed by 34 MLAs, read: "We, the following members of the 14th Maharashtra Legislative Assembly belonging to the Shiv Sena. We are notified as to the members of the Shiv Sena Legislature Party. We unanimously elected Mr. Eknathrao Sambhaji Shinde on 31 October 2019 as group leader of the Shiv Sena Legislature Party. There was a pre-poll alliance between the Bhartiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena Party for the 14th Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, 2019."
“There has been great dissatisfaction prevalent amongst the members of our party viz. Shiv Sena and our party Cadre at large, on account of Corruption in the Government, and administration regarding police posting. Corruption by then Home Minister Mr. Anil Deshmukh (who is in Jail), and sitting Minority Minister Mr. Nawab Malik (who is also in jail for involvement with Underworld Don Dawood Ibrahim). Apart from the above reasons our party cadre faced tremendous harassment and distress on political as well as personal grounds from the Opposition.”
They pointed out that the alliance with the Congress and NCP caused “enormous discontent” among Sena cadre, and claimed that the ideals of Sena were compromised while forming the alliance. “For last two-and-a-half-years our party and its leadership have compromised party principles by aligning with the contrasting ideologies for the sake of achieving power.”
They claimed that the ideals of Bal Thackeray were defeated because of the alliance.
"Shiv Sena and the BJP had forged a pre-poll alliance for the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections. They sought the blessings of the voters for this Sena-BJP alliance which the voters accepted and voted in favour of this alliance. After the results were out, the Sena severed its ties with the BJP and formed an alliance with the opposing parties which they had for4ught against in the 2019 assembly elections."
They said this act has had “tremendous negative impact” on the voters and there has been continuous opposition against the move.
They said taking into consideration all these, “it is hereby resolved and reaffirmed that Eknath Shinde who was appointed as the leader of the Shive Sena legislature party on 31/10/2019 is and continues to be the leader of the Maharashtra legislature party of the 14th Maharashtra legislative assembly.”
A group of rebel Maharshtra MLAs, led by Shinde, were flown to Guwahati on Wednesday morning and were taken to a luxury hotel on the outskirts of the city amid tight security. The MLAs were taken to Surat from Mumbai on Tuesday and the decision to shift them to Guwahati was taken on security grounds, a BJP source said earlier in the day. In a fresh development on Wednesday afternoon, two more MLAs arrived in Surat from where they will be flown to Guwahati.
Shinde, meanwhile, has claimed he has the support of 46 MLAs.
—With PTI inputs
