Maharashtra CM's representatives meet rebel Eknath Shinde in Surat hotel, leave for Mumbai

SURAT: Two leaders of Shiv Sena dispatched by Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray met and held a detailed discussion with rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde and other MLAs at a hotel in Surat on Tuesday to defuse the internecine crisis having the potential to threaten the survival of the MVA government in the neighbouring state.

The discussions were held between Thackeray's confidants Milind Narvekar and Ravindra Phatak and Shinde and other MLAs at the hotel where they have been camping since the late Monday night. Narvekar and Phatak left for Mumbai by road without responding to queries of the media after the meeting which lasted for nearly two hours.

Shinde and his loyalist MLAs reached the hotel in Surat late Monday night, hours after the results of the MLC polls in Maharashtra were declared.

In the elections held for the 10 seats up for grabs, the BJP won all the five seats it had contested despite having votes to win four candidates apparently on the back of cross-voting by some MLAs of the MVA constituents.

The NCP and Shiv Sena won two seats each contested by them. Another MVA ally, Congress, suffered a jolt as the party lost one of its two candidates to BJP's fifth nominee in the MLC polls.