Maharashtra crisis: Devendra Fadnavis meets Governor, demands Maharashtra floor test

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: The ongoing political drama in Maharashtra moved into high gear on Tuesday after a BJP delegation led by former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis met Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and requested him to ask the Uddhav government to seek a floor test, saying it has lost its majority.

Earlier in the day,  Fadnavis flew into Delhi along with senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani to consult home minister Amit Shah and party chief J P Nadda. Sources said the Governor will seek legal opinion before deciding on a special session of Maharashtra Assembly for the floor test.

As for beleaguered Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, he made yet another emotional appeal to his party’s rebel legislators led by Eknath Shinde to save his chair, requesting them to return from Guwahati to thrash out a solution. Parallelly, his wife Rashmi called up family members of the rebels, invoking the family spirit and asking them to request their spouses to return.

Fadnavis reportedly conveyed to the party brass that there were two options. One, staking the BJP’s claim with the backing of rebels by promising them proportional representation in the state cabinet; and two, facilitating a no-confidence motion by the rebels.

Within the rebel camp, there were different voices on the next steps. “While one section wants a merger with the BJP, others are in favour of retaining the Sena identity. The latter want a meeting with Uddhav find a way out,” said a person camped in Guwahati.

He added that most of the rebels are not allowed to speak freely. “They are missing their families and constituencies. They are pressuring Shinde for a solution.” But Shinde rubbished claims that the rebels were in touch with Uddhav.

Hindutva card 

Uddhav sought to play the Hindutva card, by deciding to push through a proposal to rename Aurangabad as Sambhaji Nagar in the state cabinet on Wednesday. The dilution of Hindutva by the Sena was one of the factors that triggered the rebellion.