Uddhav Thackeray on Maharashtra impasse: Will quit if my MLAs say I should not be CM

MUMBAI: Amid the ongoing political crisis in Maharashtra, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday said that he "doesn't yearn for the chair" which came as a "surprise", adding "If my own people do not want me as chief minister, they should come and tell me. I will resign the next second."
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"I am ready to step down even as Shiv Sena chief. But they should tell me in person or on the phone," Uddhav said, adding, "If my own people say they do not want me as CM, the next minute I will leave the official residence Varsha and go back to Matoshree."
He said he was ready to accept even another Shiv Sena leader as the CM.
He said if there is another Sena CM, "I will accept it happily but come in front of me and say it. I have kept my resignation letter ready. Come here and take my resignation letter to the Governor."
Thackeray said, posts are not the earning of life. "It’s the work that you do and the response of people. This is not a drama. The CM post came to be unexpectedly and I will leave it."
He asked the rebels, "Are you getting numbers with love or threats?"
"Even if one person votes against me then it is shameful for me. It’s better that you tell me rather than face a trust vote," he added.
Talking about the criticism that he doesn't meet people, Thackeray said, "However, I had undergone a surgery and could not meet people for two-three months. But all official work was on and I was conducting cabinet meetings from the hospital."
Responding to his tenure as CM of Maharashtra and the circumstances which resulted in him accepting the state CM post, Uddhav said, "We had no choice and took a different path. We came together with the Congress and the NCP. Sharad Pawar insisted on my taking up the CM post."
"Shiv Sena and Hindutva cannot be separated from each other. It is our breath," said the embattled Maharashtra CM, adding "I am the first CM to speak about Hindutva in the state assembly."
He added, "Some say this is not Balasaheb’s Shiv Sena. But he passed away in 2012. In the 2014 election we got 63 MLAs elected and several became ministers. In the last 2.5 years, we worked with the same leaders."