Maharashtra Govt Will Collapse In 15-20 Days, Its 'Death Warrant' Issued, Claims Sanjay Raut

Sanjay Raut claimed that the "death warrant" of the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government has been issued and it will collapse in the next 15-20 days.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday claimed that the "death warrant" of the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government has been issued and it will collapse in the next 15-20 days, as reported by the news agency PTI. Calling Raut a "fake astrologer", the ruling Shiv Sena (led by Shinde) said there are many such leaders in the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena (UBT) who make such predictions.

Talking to reporters in Jalgaon district of north Maharashtra, Raut said that his party was waiting for the court's order and expecting that justice will be done, as reported by PTI. The Rajya Sabha member was referring to the Supreme Court's judgement pending on a batch of pleas including one seeking disqualification of 16 Shiv Sena MLAs (of Shinde's party) who revolted against Thackeray's leadership.

"The government of the existing chief minister and his 40 MLAs will collapse in 15-20 days. The death warrant of this government has been issued. It is now to be decided who will sign it," Raut claimed, as quoted by PTI. The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader had earlier claimed the Shinde government will collapse in February. In Pune, Maharashtra Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar, who belongs to the Shinde-led Sena, termed Raut as a "fake astrologer".

Kesarkar said the Supreme Court should at least be given time to give its verdict on a batch of pleas, including one seeking disqualification of 16 Shiv Sena MLAs.. The apex court last month reserved its verdict on a batch of cross-petitions of Uddhav Thackeray and CM Eknath Shinde factions pertaining to last year's political crisis in the state. 

In June last year, Shinde and 39 MLAs rebelled against the Sena leadership resulting in the party's split and collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government (which also comprises the NCP and Congress) led by Thackeray. Shinde later tied-up with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to form the government in Maharashtra. On June 30, 2022, Shinde was sworn in as the CM along with BJP's Devendra Fadnavis as his deputy.

'Elections Can Happen Any Time, We Are Prepared': Uddhav Thackeray

The former Maharashtra chief minister on Sunday said elections can happen any time and they were "prepared". Addressing a public meeting in Jalgaon on Sunday, Uddhav, who now heads the Shiv Sena (UBT), said, "Elections [in Maharashtra] can happen at any time and we are prepared. The matter is in Supreme Court and we are hopeful that the eventual verdict will be in our favour. After that, anything can happen any time," as quoted by ANI.

The rift in undivided Shiv Sena led to present Chief Minister Eknath Shinde forming a breakaway front with over 40 loyalists. After camping in a hotel in BJP-ruled Assam over days, the breakaway camp eventually joined hands with the BJP to bring about the demise of the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) -- an alliance of Congress, NCP and the Shiv Sena -- government in Maharashtra.
The BJP and the rival Sena camp later formed the government and Eknath Shinde took oath as the chief minister, with former CM Devendra Fadnavis taking over as his deputy.

While the Election Commission (EC), earlier this year, decided to allot the official 'bow and arrow' symbol of the Shiv Sena to the Shinde camp along with the original party name, the plea by the Uddhav camp challenging the change of guard and re-allotment of the party symbol is still sub judice at the apex court. Uddhav claimed he did not allow injustice to any religion during his term in office.

"Today, the Maha Vikas Aghadi has completed three years of its existence. They (BJP and the Shinde camp) accuse me of abandoning Hindutva but the truth is that I did not allow injustice to any religion, bearing true allegiance to the oath of office that I took. All places of worship were closed during the Covid-19 pandemic, without any discrimination," he said, as quoted by ANI.

Uddhav also dared the BJP's state unit to declare that it would contest the next Maharashtra elections under the leadership of Eknath Shinde.

Hitting out at the Shinde camp, Uddhav said, "You do not have any ideal of your own and neither do you have any leader. So, you steal others' ideals and the names of someone's father and mother to contest elections. I challenged the BJP earlier and will do so again. I dare them to declare that they will contest the coming elections under the leadership of Eknath Shinde," he said, as quoted by ANI.