Lagatar24 Desk
Mumbai, June 22: Following a revolt by Minister Eknath Shinde and others, the Shiv Sena issued an ultimatum to its MLAs on Wednesday, requesting that they attend a meeting in Mumbai by 5 pm or face action.
The Shiv Sena invited all MLAs to a meeting at Varsha, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s official residence, in a letter issued by WhatsApp, email, and SMS. The meeting will likely be presided over by Thackeray through video conference as he has tested positive for Covid.
“If you do not attend this meeting at 5 pm today, it will be presumed that you intend to leave the party and your membership is liable to be cancelled under the law,” the letter reads.
The letter was sent following a video conference meeting of Thackeray’s cabinet around midday.
Asserting that he has the support of 40 of the party’s 55 MLAs and six independents, rebel Shiv Sena minister Eknath Shinde took off for Guwahati in BJP-ruled Assam on Wednesday, further escalating the political unrest in Maharashtra.
In the 288-member house, where the Shiv Sena, which leads the MVA, has 55 MLAs, allies NCP (53) and the Congress (44) are next in line, with a simple majority threshold of 144.
According to the source, the MLAs were moved to Guwahati for security reasons after being transported from Mumbai to Surat on Tuesday.
