Amid the political crisis in Maharashtra, stirred by the rebellion of several Shiv Sena MLAs, rebel leader Eknath Shinde, on Wednesday, 22 June, took to Twitter and claimed that the "MVA only benefitted allies" while the "Shiv Sena only weakened."
Following Uddhav Thackeray's address, Shinde tweeted a four-point rebuttal, saying that the Shiv Sena must get out of the "unnatural alliance". Shinde said -
"1. In two and a half years of the MVA, only the allies benefitted while the Shiv Sainiks were sidelined.
2. While the allies got stronger, the Shiv Sainiks and the Sena only weakened.
3. It is important to get out of this unnatural alliance to save the party.
4. Important to take a decision for Maharashtra."
Shinde had earlier said that he has not been in touch with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to stake claim to the government.
'Haven't Got Any Proposal From BJP': Eknath Shinde
Amid the turmoil, Shinde has claimed the support of 46 MLAs and said that he has not held any talks with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) so far.
Speaking to news agency ANI, Shinde said that all rebel MLAs continue to be "Bal Thackeray's Shiv Sainiks" and that he has not held any talks with the BJP so far.
"As of now we have neither received any proposal from BJP nor are we holding any talks with them," he said.
Shinde and other MLAs, who had been holed up at a hotel in Surat on Tuesday, shifted to a Guwahati hotel in the wee hours of Wednesday.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)