Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray Dares Shinde-BJP Govt For Mid-Term Polls In Maharashtra

Uddhav Thackeray alleged that whatever happened in the state was BJP's ploy to finish Shiv Sena in Maharashtra.

Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray ( Image Source :PTI )

New Delhi: After the Eknath Shinde-led government won the floor test in the Maharashtra Assembly on Monday, Shiv Sena chief and former Chief Minister launched an attack on the Bhartiya Janata Party, alleging that the political coup was planned by the saffron party to end Shiv Sena. Challenging the BJP for mid-term elections in the state, Thackeray said that whatever happened in Maharashtra in the past few weeks was a ploy to finish his party. 

According to a PTI report, he addressed a meeting of Sena district presidents at the Shiv Sena Bhawan in Mumbai on Monday afternoon and said that it was an insult to the Constitution to run the Legislative Assembly in an arbitrary manner. 

As per a statement issued by the Shiv Sena, Thackeray, in his speech, told the Sena district presidents to stay together if they want to put up a fight.

"This is BJP's ploy to end the Shiv Sena, I dare them to hold mid-term polls in the state. Instead of playing all these games, we will go to the court of people. If we are wrong, people of the state will send us home and if you (BJP and Shinde group) are wrong, people will send you home," the statement said quoting Thackeray.

Thackeray also urged the experts to express their views and opinions on the recent political developments in the state and whether they were in accordance with the Constitution or if constitutional norms were violated. 

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena's Eknath Shinde faction on Monday gave a petition to Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar for the suspension of 16 MLAs of the party belonging to Uddhav Thackeray's camp for violation of whip. Bharat Gogawale, Chief whip of Shiv Sena's Eknath Shinde faction gave the petition to the Assembly Speaker. 

Shiv Sena chief whip Bharat Gogawale said, "We have given the notice to disqualify all the persons who defied our whip except Aaditya Thackeray. We have not given the name of Aaditya Thackeray due to respect towards Balasaheb Thackeray."

The Uddhav Thackeray faction, on the other hand, has approached the Supreme Court against the appointment of Gogawale as the chief whip of the party. 

Notably, Eknath Shinde led a revolt against Shiv Sena leading to the collapse of the 31-month-old Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, and took oath as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra on June 30.