Eknath Shinde 'Two of my children died': Chief Minister Eknath Shinde breaks down after trust vote win
Mumbai/IBNS: Eknath Shinde Monday broke down during his speech in the Maharashtra assembly, his first address as Chief Minister after an easy trust vote win.
He also revealed that he almost became Chief Minister of the previous Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress alliance but couldn't due to objections within his party.
Describing what he alleged as threats to his family over his revolt against the Shiv Sena supremo and former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Shinde referred to his children, who died in a boating accident in 2000, and choked up.
"They attacked my family...My father is alive, my mother died. I could not give much time to my parents. They would be asleep when I came and would go to work when I slept. I could not give much time to my son Shrikant. My two children died - at the time, Anand Dighe consoled me. I used to think, what is there to live for? I will stay with my family," the Chief Minister said.
Shinde's son, 11, and daughter, 7, drowned when a boat overturned during their visit to a village. Mr Shinde grieved for a long time for his children.
His oldest son is a Shiv Sena MP.
Defending his rebellion, he said treachery was not in his blood but he was humiliated over an election result and could not take it.
"I started getting calls and people started joining me. Uddhav Thackeray phoned me, asked me where I am going, I said I don't know. He asked me when I would return, I said I don't know...I decided that I was willing to sacrifice myself but I would act," said the new CM.
Eknath Shinde Monday won the vote of confidence in the Assembly with the help of the BJP and others.
Shinde leapt past the majority with 164 votes in favour and only 99 votes in favour of former Chief Minister Uddav Thackery.
Apart from MLAs of BJP, Shiv Sena, smaller parties and Independents, the ruling coalition also secured the votes of Uddhav camp MLA Santosh Bangar and PWPI legislator Shyamsundar Shinde.
This implies that 40 out of 55 Sena MLAs are now with the government.
The opposition secured 99 votes - eight less than what it bagged in the Speaker's election a day earlier.
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party MLAs Abu Asim Azmi and Rais Shaikh and AIMIM MLA Shah Faruque Anwar abstained.
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