Maharashtra political crisis: 37 Shiv Sena MLAs declare Eknath Shinde as their leader; a look at 10 developments

Maharashtra political crisis: Tensions continue to mount in for the state Maha Vikas Aghadi government in the state after all 37 rebel Shiv Sena MLAs wrote a letter to the Legislative Assembly's deputy speaker, declaring that Eknath Shinde remains their leader in House. The lawmakers sidelined Uddhav Thackeray in the party that was founded by his father Bal Thackeray

Maharashtra political crisis: Here are top 10 developments

1 - Shortly after the Uddhav Thackeray faction filed disqualification applications for 12 rebels, Shinde on Thursday sent a letter to the deputy speaker, signed by Sena MLAs, who are currently staying with him in Guwahati. The names of MLAs mentioned in the application include - Eknath Shinde, Tanaji Sawant, Mahesh Shinde, Abdul Sattar, Sandipanrao Bhumre, Bharatshet Gogawale, Sanjay Shirsat, Yamini Jadhav, Lata Chandrakant, Anil Babar, Prakash Surve and Balaji Kinikar

2 - The letter to the Maharashtra Assembly deputy speaker, by Shinde and rebel MLAs, also informed that Sena MLA Bharat Gogawale has been appointed as chief whip of the legislature party in place of Sunil Prabhu

3 - Shinde reacted to the threats given to 12 MLAs who skipped the legislature party meeting called by Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai. In a tweet he wrote, "Who are you trying to threaten? We know your gimmicks and also understand the law very well. As per the 10th schedule of the Constitution, the whip is applicable for legislative works and not for any meeting"

4 - Shinde further said, "We demand action against you instead because you do not have sufficient number (of MLAs) but still formed a group of 12 MLAs. We do not pay any heed to such threats"

5 - The Eknath Shinde-led rebel faction has claimed the support of 37 Shiv Sena MLAs and 10 Independent legislators. The number of Sena MLAs are sufficient that he requires to split the party in the Maharashtra Assembly without falling foul of the anti-defection law

6 - On Thursday evening, two more MLAs, Dada Bhuse and Sanjay Rathore and one MLC, Ravibdra Fathak, had joined Eknath Shinde team camping in a hotel in Guwahati

7 - Earlier on Thursday, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said that his party is open to consider quitting Maharashtra's ruling alliance MVA if the rebel MLAs camping in Assam return with 24 hours and discuss their grievances with CM Uddhav Thackeray

8 - "You say you are real Shiv Sainiks and will not quit the party. We are ready to consider your demand provided you come back to Mumbai within 24 hours and discuss the issue with CM Uddhav Thackeray. Your demand will be considered positively. Don't write letters on Twitter and WhatsApp," Raut, who is also the party's chief spokesperson, said

9 - NCP president Sharad Pawar said that the fate of the MVA government will be decided on the floor of the Legislative Assembly, where the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress coalition will prove its majority in a trust vote. He also said that they were made to persuade dissident MLAs to come back to Mumbai from Guwahati and put forward their grievances before the party leadership

10 - Eknath Shinde has demanded that the Shiv Sena breaks its alliance with the Congress and the NCP, saying that this was diluting its Hindutva ideology and that the party leaders suffered the most in the last two-and-a-half years of the coalition rule.

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