Maharashtra political crisis |
Two-and-a-half years after it survived the rebellion by Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar, the tripartite Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra is staring at an identical crisis. Senior Minister and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde has rebelled against Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, demanding the party snap ties with the MVA and re-join hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Hours after the BJP trumped the MVA in the Maharashtra Legislative Council polls on Monday night, Mr. Shinde, the State’s Urban Development Minister and the Shiv Sena’s legislative party leader, left Mumbai along with a group of MLAs for Surat in Gujarat. The Sena, in a swift move, removed him from his post as the legislative party leader and appointed Ajay Chaudhari, an MLA from Mumbai’s Sewri area, to the position.
