Sena MLAs misled, MP-Rajasthan model can’t be replicated in Maharashtra: Sanjay Raut

“It is true that some of the MLAs are not in Mumbai and some of them were not reachable since night. But contact has been established with a few MLAs who went out of the city due to a misunderstanding. Eknath Shinde is also out of the city and he has also been contacted,” Raut said.

“I or the Shiv Sena do not find any merit in the kind of picture which is being created right now that there will be an earthquake (in Maharashtra politics),” the Sena MP said, adding that the current “suspicious atmosphere will be cleared soon. Now we are going to Varsha (the chief minister’s official residence) for a meeting with CM Uddhav Thackeray.” All MVA leaders are in touch with each other, he revealed.

“An attempt is being made to implement a pattern like Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan in Maharashtra hoping that the Uddhav Thackeray government will collapse. But the attempts which are being made will not be successful. There is a conspiracy and attempt to weaken the Shiv Sena by the BJP, but that will not happen,” he said.

On Eknath Shinde, Raut said that till Monday he was with the MLAs in Hotel Westin and taking all efforts for the victory of both the Sena candidates. “He is a loyal shiv sainik and a colleague. Whatever is being said about him… I cannot say anything about it unless we speak to him,” he said.

Recalling the government formation by BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis in 2019, Raut said, “In politics, we have to go through such situations. Two and a half years ago, the BJP did a similar experiment but it was not successful and hence they are trying to do the same now. This is also an attack on the back and from the front….”

When asked whether there was a similar conspiracy to topple the government through Ekanath Shinde, he said, “There is a conspiracy but it won’t be successful. Shinde is a loyal shiv sainik.”

Live |Live Updates: Efforts being made to topple MVA govt, our MLAs will return says Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut

Further, on the names of Sena MLAs who are unreachable, Raut said that the names cited by the media were not completely right. Some of the MLAs or ministers are already at Varsha Bungalow, including Gulabrao Patil, Sanjay Rathod and Pratap Sarnaik, he pointed out. “There is an attempt to destabilise and weaken the state, however it will not happen till Shiv Sena is there,” Raut added.

The remaining MLAs, a few of whom are ministers, are saying that they have not understood what has happened, but they have been taken, he said, adding that they are in Surat, Gujarat, and arrangements were being made by BJP Gujarat chief R C Patil.

“The MLAs are being taken by misleading them and we know why they are in Gujarat, who RC Patil is, and whose close confidante he is. The moment we contact them, they will come back immediately and hence those who are thinking of an earthquake or something of that sort should know that they will have to fight with the Shiv Sena first and only then can they think of weakening Maharashtra. Until we are there, they cannot destabilise the state,” the Sena spokesperson asserted.

He said contact has been established with most of the MLAs. “Some of them wish to return but they are not being allowed. They have been surrounded (with police security and barricading). Such things can happen only in Gujarat because the government there works like this and the central government gets their work done there.”

Raut also said that pressure tactics were being used. “Today also, in this situation, our co-leader Anil Parab has been summoned by the ED to ensure that he won’t be with us. These are all the tactics and plans which need to be understood and are being done to destabilise the state.”