Sena’s Internal Matter: Sharad Pawar Firefights For Team Thackeray
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar, considered to be the troubleshooter between the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) partners, on Tuesday said that the Maharashtra government is intact and the rebellion would be quelled soon.
His remarks came hours after senior MVA leader Eknath Shinde, along with 21 MLAs, went incommunicado and reportedly moved to Gujarat.
Pawar alleged that this was the third attempt by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to pull down the government in Maharashtra, but stayed positive that Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will handle the situation.
“Eknath Shinde has never conveyed to us that he wants to be CM… This is an internal issue of Shiv Sena, whatever they decide we’re with them. We don’t think there is any need for change in the government,” Pawar was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
“This is the third such incident that has happened in the last two and a half years… All MLAs of NCP voted for us in the MLC polls… Cross voting happens in such polls, nothing new in that. Government will continue to run,” Pawar added.
Earlier in the day, Congress also claimed that there was no threat to the Maharashtra government. It said that party leaders would soon meet in Mumbai and discuss the next strategy in the state.
“The BJP is misusing power it has at the Centre, which is now not hidden from anyone. A money-power circle is going on. They are pursuing the path of lies, but truth will win. This phase shall pass,” Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
A similar statement was also made by the Shiv Sena, which said that a communication has been established with Shinde. “Eknath Shinde is not Mumbai, but communication has been established with him,” Sena leader Sanjay Raut said.
Shinde reportedly moved to Gujarat after the Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC) election results were declared in which the BJP and the MVA alliance bagged five seats each.
While the MVA has accused the BJP of trying to topple its government, the saffron party has refused the claims, it has got nothing to do with political developments in the state.
“It is the Shiv Sena’s internal matter. We are not aware why Shinde went to Surat with his party colleagues. We have nothing to do with his move,” Maharashtra BJP president Chandrakant Patil was quoted as saying by PTI.
“If the BJP receives any proposal from Eknath Shinde to form government, we would definitely consider it seriously. After all, we all have worked together in the past, hence it is much better to work and run a government with them,” Patil said.
