Rebel Shiv Sena MLAs enjoy high-class lifestyle in Guwahati: A look at estimates

The ongoing political crisis in Maharashtra resulted in the rebel Shiv Sena leaders under Eknath Shinde camping at the five-star Radisson Blu Hotel at Guwahati in BJP-ruled Assam.

Seventy rooms were booked for the leaders for seven days, the cost of which is estimated at around Rs. 56 lakh, according to an NDTV report. An additional cost of Rs. 8 lakh per day will be incurred on food and other services, sources told NDTV.

Barring pre-booked corporate deals, the management is not accepting further bookings at the 196-room hotel.

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Besides hotel charges, the costs of chartered flights and other transport arrangements will be included in the amount spent on these leaders. The price of a chartered plane like the Embraer ERJ-135LR, capable of carrying over 30 people, from Surat to Guwahati is pegged at around Rs. 50 lakh, according to an Indian Express report. The price of three luxury buses to transport the rebel leaders between the airport and the hotel in Surat would also not have been cheap.

Shinde, who has been in Guwahati since Wednesday, is reportedly demanding that the Shiv Sena high command walk out of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition and join hands with the BJP. Pre-booking of the hotel for a week indicates that the leaders are planning for the long haul and that the crisis may not end soon.

The Shiv Sena, for their part, said that the demands of the rebels would be considered if they returned within 24 hours and engaged in in-person discussions with Uddhav Thackeray.

"We are ready to walk out of the MVA government in Maharashtra but the party rebels should return to Mumbai (from Guwahati) in 24 hours," senior Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut had said earlier.