Sena hints it's ready to sacrifice MVA as rebels hit magic mark

Maharashtra's ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government tottered on the brink of collapse on Thursday as Shiv Sena rebels appeared set to legally break away, and the party hinted for the first time that it was open to discussing its future in the coalition if the dissidents came back.

- Swapnil Rawal and Dhaval Kulkarni

MUMBAI: The rebels, led by state minister Eknath Shinde, swelled to the magic number of 37 as more Shiv Sena lawmakers flew from Maharashtra to Guwahati, and adopted a resolution reiterating Shinde as the Shiv Sena leader in the assembly, and the appointment of one of its own as the chief whip. The resolution, with 37 signatures, was sent late on Thursday night to the deputy speaker Narhari Zirwal and governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.

Earlier in the day, Zirwal accepted Shiv Sena's proposal to disqualify 12 of the rebels, including Shinde, and separately upheld the removal of Shinde as the group leader of the Sena and the nomination of Ajay Choudhari in his place - a move that the rebel resolution appeared to challenge as the procedural tussle began.

Briefly, the breakaway group appeared to have swelled to 39, before two legislators left it and voiced allegiance to the chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, who now has the support of 18 MLAS.

As the Sena haemorrhaged legislators to the rebel faction, the party said for the first time that it was willing to consider leaving the MVA - which came together in 2019 after the Sena broke its 25-year-old alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) - if the dissidents came back and discussed it with chief minister Uddhav Thackeray.

"You say you are real Shiv Sainiks and will not quit the party. We are ready to consider your demand provided you come back to Mumbai within 24 hours and discuss the issue with CM Uddhav Thackeray.

Your demand will be considered positively. Don't write letters on Twitter and WhatsApp," Sanjay Raut, who some rebels have blamed for blocking access to Thackeray, told reporters.

But the rebels rejected the offer, saying that the alliance had to end first before any discussion could begin about them coming back.