Days after his revolt against Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and the Shiv Sena-led coalition government in the State, rebel party leader Eknath Shinde on Thursday said the entire operation of splitting the party was supported by a “national party”. He, however, did not say it was the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
In response, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar advised the rebels that no BJP leader would come to guide them when they arrived in Mumbai to prove the majority in the Legislative Assembly.
In the evening, the rebel group claimed to have sent another letter to Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal, with the signatures of 42 MLAs and claiming Mr. Shinde to be the Sena’s legislature party leader. On Wednesday, the rebel group sent a letter with the signatures of 34 MLAs.
