Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde has induced a political crisis for the Maharashtra government by rebelling against the party leadership. Eknath Shinde has been the Cabinet Minister of Urban Development and Public Works in the Government of Maharashtra and a prominent figure (president) of Shiv Sena. He has also been a member of the Legislative Assembly from Kori-Pachpakhadi constituency of Thane.
According to the reports, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won five seats opposite the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)’s alliance government in a recent cross-voting session in Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC) election. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Shiv Sena won two seats each.
The Bharatiya Janata Party’s win at the Maharashtra Legislative election and a possible rebellion of Mr. Shinde has foresighted a massive change in the political ecosystem of Maharashtra, leading to a setback for the Shiv Sena government.
Following are the five pointers of the Maharashtra Shiv Sena government crisis.
1. Mr. Shinde and his associates can win over 37 Shiv Sena MLAs in order to not be disqualified by the anti-defection law. The anti-defection law is a bill that came into effect on 18 March 1985, states if an elected party member tries to defect party leadership can be terminated or disqualified from the party.
If Mr. Shinde can join BJP after winning then it would give rise to a new dawn for BJP in Maharashtra. However, he has to earn the support of his MLAs in order to seize a massive win and according to several sources he so far has the support of 12-13 MLAs.
2. Mr. Shinde can quit the Shiv Sena government in order to receive a ticket from BJP to contest byelections. If he wins the major election against the Shiv Sena government, then Mr. Shinde can be a part of the BJP lead governing body in Maharashtra.
3. Shiv Sena could continue to be a part of Maha Vikas Agadhi (MVA) after terminating Mr. Shide from party leadership. In this case, Mr. Shinde could join BJP to protect his seat in Thane. Once he is secured by BJP, he can gather the support of other MLAs to contest against Shiv Sena on BJP’s ticket.
4. Shiv Sena can ease the whole situation in order to stop the act of rebellion and reflect their party’s strength. However, Mr. Shinde will have much less access to his leadership role to remain seated in his ministry position.
5. Mr. Shinde’s act of rebellion could be the reason for Shiv Sena to split with MVA and eventually form a government with BJP.
Recently Mr. Shinde’s tweet regarding his visiting Assam has gone viral and it raises a huge controversy. However, his mention of Shiv Sena leader Balasaheb Thackeray in the tweet has also spurred confusion about whether he will be joining BJP or not.
According to reports, Mr. Shinde’s rebellion against his own party indicates he could be joining BJP. Mr. Shinde has recently left for flood-hit Assam with 33 party MLAs and other Independent MLAs. He said after reaching Guwahati, “A total of 40 MLAs are present here, We will carry Balasaheb Thackeray’s Hindutva.”
#WATCH | "A total of 40 Shiv Sena MLAs are present here. We will carry Balasaheb Thackeray's Hindutva," said Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde after arriving in Guwahati, Assam pic.twitter.com/YpSrGbJvdt
— ANI (@ANI) June 22, 2022
