Sena rebel Eknath Shinde met BJP leaders in Vadodara: Report
Rebel Sena leader Eknath Shinde held a meeting with BJP's Devendra Fadnavis in Gujarat's Vadodara last night to discuss the possible government formation, media reports said.
According to an NDTV report, Home Minister Amit Shah was also present in Vadodara, where Shinde arrived on a special flight from Assam's Guwahati.
Reportedly, 40-rebel Shiv Sena MLAs, who have rebelled against Uddhav Thackerays' leadership, are holed up in a five-star hotel in Guwahati in BJP-ruled Assam.
Post the talks with Fadnavis, Shinde returned to Guwahati.
Notably, Devendra Fadnavis was the chief minister of Maharashtra till 2019, when Uddhav Thackeray parted ways with ally BJP after state polls and coalesced with Sharad Pawar's NCP and Congress to head the new alliance government.
Meanwhile, 16 MLAs including Shinde are facing disqualification notice from the Maharashtra Deputy Speaker, who asked them to respond by Monday evening and be present in Mumbai.
According to the report, the rebel camp has already named the new faction as "Shiv Sena Balasaheb", implying the original Shiv Sena as envisaged by Bal Thackeray, the party's founder and father of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
If Shinde's faction wants to take control of Shiv Sena, it will need to approach the Election Commission and claim the party symbol.
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