Maharashtra political crisis: Why did BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis meet with Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari?

The political crisis in Maharashtra is deepening with each passing day, and the fate of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance hangs in balance. The rebel Shiv Sena leaders led by Eknath Shinde have said that they are in the majority, inching towards the collapse of the party leadership.

In the midst of the political turmoil in Maharashtra, senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis met with state Governor Bhagat Sigh Koshyari, sparking speculations of the Bhartiya Janta Party moving towards establishing their own government in the state.

The purpose behind the meeting between Fadnavis and Koshyari remained clear – the BJP leader asked the governor to ask the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government to prove its majority in the Assembly, and to carry on with their leadership.

Fadnavis claimed that the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress coalition government seemed to be in the minority as 39 Sena MLAs who belong to the Shinde faction have said they do not support the government.

"Therefore, we handed over a letter to the Governor, requesting him to ask the government to prove its majority through a floor test in the House," he told reporters. Before meeting the governor around 10 pm, Fadnavis met top BJP leaders in Delhi earlier in the day, as per PTI reports.

According to sources, before Fadnavis landed at the Raj Bhavan here, eight Independent MLAs, who were earlier associated with the Shiv Sena, sent emails from Guwahati - where the rebel group headed by Shinde is camping - seeking floor test at the earliest claiming that Thackeray government has lost its majority.

The political crisis in Maharashtra got kicked off when Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena rebel MLAs slammed the party for its alliance with Congress and questioned its Hindutva roots. The rebel leaders have since set up camp in Guwahati, Assam in a luxury hotel.

Shiv Sena has launched a slew of attacks on the rebel leaders, with MP Sanjay Raut calling them “jahil (uneducated)” and “living corpses without souls”. Maharashtra tourism minister Aaditya Thackeray also said that Eknath Shinde was offered the CM post, but “did drama” while accepting.

(With PTI inputs)

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