BJP sources said that 30 rooms in Hotel Le Meridien have been taken by the MLAs. At around 2 pm, BJP MLA from Jalgaon, Maharashtra, Sanjay Kute reached the hotel to start talks with the rebel MLAs.
The hotel was kept under tight security cover of Gujarat Police under the supervision of Joint Commissioner of Police (Surat) Sharad Singhal. According to police sources, hotel guests “have been thoroughly checked and only those with identity cards have been allowed who had booked the hotel before the siege of the hotel”. Surat Police is also strictly checking vehicles headed towards Dumas, which is a popular beach for residents of the city. Barricades have been put up outside the hotel.
Shinde, who had reached Surat late on Monday night, was at the hotel in Dumas area till Tuesday afternoon, sources said. Indian Express He had around 30 MLAs with him. The Shiv Sena on Tuesday removed Shinde from the post of leader of the party group.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena MLA Nitin Deshmukh, who was at the hotel as part of the rebel camp, fell ill and was admitted to the New Civil Hospital in Surat. Pranjali, the wife of the Balapur MLA, has filed a complaint with the Civil Lines police station in Akola, Maharashtra about her husband ‘missing’.
Shiv Sena has 55 MLAs, NCP 53 and Congress 44 MLAs in Maharashtra Assembly, while BJP has 106 MLAs. The strength of small parties and independent MLAs is 29. There are 288 MLAs in the assembly, but Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke passed away last month and NCP member Nawab Malik And Anil Deshmukh is in jail for money laundering.
If the rebels want to merge with the BJP, 37 MLAs (two-thirds out of 55) will have to come together to ensure that they do not face disqualification proceedings under the anti-defection law.