On June 20, Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra Urban Development Minister Eknath Shinde was reported ‘missing’ along with several MLAs. The reports of him being ‘out of reach’ came out after legislative council elections on Monday. There have been rumours floating around that some of the Shiv Sena MLAs cross-voted in the elections resulting in the BJP winning the MLC seats.
Reports suggest that the Shiv Sena MLAs are holding up in a hotel in Surat, Gujarat. There have been rumours floating in Marathi media that Shinde was not happy with the party workings.
शिवसेना नेते एकनाथ शिंदे यांच्यासह 25 आमदार सूरतमधील हॉटेलमध्ये असल्याची माहिती समोर आली आहे. #EknathShinde #Shivsena #BJP #Maharashtra https://t.co/PCtix7KVWF
— ABP माझा (@abpmajhatv) June 21, 2022
While many reports have stated that Shinde has 13 MLAs with him, ABP Majha has reported that Shinde has 25 MLAs along with him in Surat. BJP leader Narayan Rane refused to divulge any details on Shinde and the reports of him being in Surat.
During the election on Monday, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) bagged five seats in the Maharashtra Legislative Council. On the other hand, Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) managed to grab two seats each. There were 10 MLA seats to grab, and BJP had fielded five candidates for the same. Maha Vikas Agadi (MVA) had fielded six candidates for the same. Though the number of MLAs was short for BJP, it still managed to will all five seats where its candidates were contesting.
There are 106 MLAs of the BJP in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. It was not possible for the party to win the elections without the support of the independent MLAs or from those of small parties or other parties like Congress, Shiv Sena and NCP. BJP’s Pravin Darekar, who won the MLC election, said, “We are very happy; Maharashtra has shown faith in BJP. Cross-voting 100% happened among members of Shiv Sena and Congress. We wouldn’t have received so many votes otherwise.”
CM Thackeray called the MLA meeting on Tuesday
As there were rumours of cross-voting by some Shiv Sena MLAs, the party’s president and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray have called for an urgent all-party MLA meeting on Tuesday at noon.
Maharashtra | After suspected cross-voting in MLC elections, CM Uddhav Thackeray has called an urgent meeting of all Shiv Sena MLAs today at 12pm. All MLAs have been strictly asked to remain present in the meeting. MVA candidate from Congress Chandrakant Handore had lost y’day.
— ANI (@ANI) June 21, 2022
All MLAs have been instructed to be at the meeting without fail. Reports suggest around 20 MLAs could have cross-voted in the MLC elections.
