"The real Shiv Sena wins", said rebel group leader Eknath Shinde minutes after the Supreme Court verdict on the rebels' disqualification even as Maharashtra’s BJP core committee met in Mumbai and started weighing various options.
“This is the victory of revered HinduHrudayaSamrat Balasaheb Thackeray's Hindutva and the ideology of Dharmveer Anand Dighe…the real Shiv Sena wins,” said Shinde, who is camping in Guwahati with 50-odd rebels.
Back in Thane, the bastion of the Shinde-family, celebrations broke out with bursting of firecrackers.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari is closely monitoring the developments in Mumbai and Guwahati and has briefed the Centre.
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In the backdrop of the political crisis, the BJP’s core committee met in Mumbai - in which Leader of Opposition in Assembly Devendra Fadnavis, his counterpart in Council Pravin Darekar, state BJP President Chandrakant Patil, his Mumbai counterpart Mangalpabhat Lodha and Sudhir Mungantiwar among others were present.
“We reviewed the political situation and uncertainty in Maharashtra and also the Supreme Court judgement,” Mungantiwar told reporters after the meeting.
Referring to Shinde as the group leader, Mungantiwar, a former Finance and Planning Minister, however, said that no proposal has come from his side. “We have not received any proposal from anyone to form the government…we were on a wait and watch mode and continue to be that way….if any proposal comes, the core committee will meet again and take a call,” he said.
“Depending on the situation, BJP will then take a decision in the interest of the people, in the interest of Maharashtra,” he said.
In a related development, Yuva Sena President and minister Aaditya Thackeray said that some of the rebels are in touch with them. Shiv Sena’s doors are open for those who want to leave and those who want to return to the party. Those rebel MLAs who are traitors will not be taken back into the party...the rebels have the option of merger with BJP, Prahar or MNS," he said.
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