Maharashtra political crisis: All the drama of the day in pictures

SUMMARY

It's all happening in Maharashtra. In a rapidly-developing story, the fault lines in the ruling MVA alliance, comprising the Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP, are cracking open as party leaders and MLAs rebel following some steep setbacks. Here’s the unfolding political potboiler so far and what led to this turn of events-

By CNBCTV18.comJun 22, 2022 10:37:08 PM IST (Published)

Maharashtra's coalition government is in turmoil as more than 35 Shiv Sena MLAs have rebelled against the party, which is one of the constituents of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance.The coalition suffered two successive defeats at the hands of the BJP — in the Rajya Sabha polls and the Maharashtra Legislative Council polls — which led to a crisis within the party. Eknath Shinde, the dissident Shiv Sena minister, left the state with at least 35 MLAs.Maharashtra BJP President Chandrakant Patil has clarified that his party has nothing to do with the current political developments.

June 22, 2022: Uddhav vs Eknath | Uddhav Thackeray announced in the evening that he was ready to step down at any time, should a Shiv Sainik ask him. "I am ready to quit the chief minister's post right now. Positions come and go... But can you promise me the next chief minister will be from the Shiv Sena?" Uddhav Thackeray said. The Shiv Sena had directed all its MLAs to attend the 5 pm Cabinet meeting, to be held on the same day, warning that absence without prior information or proper reason may lead to action against them.

June 22, 2022: Uddhav vs Eknath | Shiv Sena rebel leader Eknath Shinde called the deadline invalid and clarified that he had 46 MLAs on his side, including 6-7 Independent MLAs. He added that the group has not received any offer from the BJP, and that they would not hold any talks with Shiv Sena or CM Uddhav Thackeray.Earlier, Shinde had asserted that he has the support of 40 MLAs from Maharashtra who have accompanied him to Assam's Guwahati. He, along with a group of Shiv Sena and independent legislators, had landed in Guwahati early in the morning.

June 21, 2022: Shinde's gambit |Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra's Urban Development and Public Works minister Eknath Shinde went untraceable along with 11 MLAs, putting the ruling alliance’s government in jeopardy. As per The Hindu, Eknath Shinde scooted to Surat with over a dozen legislators from Maharashtra. Later in the day, Shinde broke his silence and claimed he has the support of over 21 MLAs. He also spoke about Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray’s teachings and Hindutva.

June 20, 2022: The trigger |The MVA government had managed to run smoothly through the pandemic. However, at the Rajya Sabha polls and the Legislative Council polls, the BJP trumped the alliance twice in a matter of days, which threw the MVA alliance into disarray.At least 12 Shiv Sena MLAs cross-voted in favour of a Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP in the Maharashtra Legislative Council polls.

It all goes back to October 2019 |The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance won the Maharashtra Assembly elections with 161 seats (BJP: 105 and Shiv Sena: 56). The NCP got 54 seats while the Congress won 44 seats. The alliance was on its way to forming the government, but the Shiv Sena then raised the demand for a rotational chief ministership with the BJP. Following this demand, the Sena-BJP alliance disintegrated and then Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis tendered his resignation to Governor BS Koshyari before the end of his term.

After the BJP declined to form the government, the governor invited the second-largest party, Shiv Sena, to stake its claim to form the government. On November 21, 2019, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and his son Aaditya Thackeray met with NCP chief Sharad Pawar to finalise discussions of government formation. The new alliance with the name ‘Maha Vikas Aghadi’ was formed and Uddhav Thackeray was named the chief ministerial candidate.

However, with the Centre invoking Rule 12 of the Transaction of Business Rules, 1961, to revoke the proclamation of President’s Rule in Maharashtra without the prior approval of the Union Cabinet, Devendra Fadnavis returned as the CM in a surprise turn of events. But it was a brief reign.The NCP-Congress-Shiv Sena group moved the Supreme Court against the “illegal usurpation of power” by the BJP in Maharashtra. The group paraded 162 MLAs in a show of united strength.

Finally, on November 26, 2019, the Supreme Court ordered that a floor test be conducted in Maharashtra on November 27, signalling the advent of Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray as the 18th chief minister of Maharashtra, and as the leader of the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance.