Amid the political turmoil in Maharashtra, BJP leader and former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis met party president J.P. Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Tuesday. The meetings come amid rumours that the saffron party is likely to stake claim to form the next government with the support of rebel Shiv Sena MLAs.
BJP MP and senior lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani was present in the meetings.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi government in the state is on the brink of collapse after Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde revolted against the party leadership and left Mumbai with a sizable number of MLAs on June 20. The rebels, including 39 Sena MLAs and nine Independents, have been camping at a luxury hotel in Assam's Guwahati even as the official faction led by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is exploring all options to save the party and the government.
The BJP has denied any role in the rebellion but reports suggest that the party is in touch with the Shinde camp for a possible government formation. Party sources told PTI that Shinde and other key members of the rebel group will be suitably accommodated in case their party comes to power. Shinde may be made deputy chief minister in such an eventuality.
BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya said his party was watching the turmoil in the Shiv Sena. "We have no role in the current turmoil in Maharashtra. This (rebellion) is internal strife of the Shiv Sena. We are just standing at a distance and watching it," he told reporters.
A BJP core committee meeting was held at the residence of Fadnavis on Monday evening to discuss the political situation in the state.
Meanwhile, Thackeray on Tuesday made yet another emotional appeal to the rebel MLAs to return to Mumbai and talk to him to find a solution to the present crisis. “It is not too late. I appeal to you to return and sit with me and remove the confusion (created by your actions) among Shiv Sainiks and the public,” he said in a statement.
In a relief to rebel Shiv Sena MLAs led by Shinde, the Supreme Court kept in abeyance the disqualification proceedings before the Deputy Speaker of the state Assembly till July 11, and also sought responses from the state government and others on their pleas questioning the legality of notices seeking their disqualification.
