Revolt in Shiv Sena, 22 MLAs gathers Surat hotel, Uddhav Thackeray holds an emergency meeting

Mumbai: Clouds of crisis have started hovering over the Uddhav Thackeray government of Maharashtra. Eknath Shinde, a minister in the Thackeray government and top leader of his party Shiv Sena, is reportedly staying with 21 other party MLAs at the Meridian Hotel in Surat in BJP-ruled Gujarat. Party leaders are not able to contact him, due to which alarm bells have been raised on the Uddhav Thackeray government.

Sources say that Eknath Shinde, who is reportedly angry, is "out of touch" with the party. It is learned that Palghar MLA Srinivas Vanga, Aligarh MLA Mahendra Dalvi, and Bhiwandi Rural MLA Shantaram More are also "unreachable". Sources said that a total of 22 Shiv Sena MLAs are staying in the hotel in Gujarat, out of which five are ministers. It has been told that Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is holding an emergency meeting to handle the situation.

Hitting out at the BJP, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said, "It is a conspiracy to topple the Uddhav Thackeray government like Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan." "Shiv Sena is a party of loyalists. We will not allow this to happen," he said.

Raut further said that he has spoken to some MLAs staying in Surat. "Some of them want to return, but they are not being allowed," he said. He insisted that all the MLAs are "loyal Shiv Sainiks". Sources in the opposition BJP have claimed that apart from 13 Shiv Sena MLAs, Shinde is accompanied by five independent MLAs at the Surat hotel.

Eknath Shinde is counted among the strong leaders of Shiv Sena. He has played an important role in strengthening the organization in the state. His move can increase troubles for the Uddhav Thackeray government.