Guwahati, June 22
A group of MLAs from Maharashtra, led by disgruntled Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde, arrived here on a charter plane on Wednesday morning and were taken to a luxury hotel on the outskirts of the city amid tight security.
BJP MPs Pallab Lochan Das and Sushant Borgohain Shinde welcomed the MLAs at the airport, who initially refused to speak to media persons waiting outside the airport, later saying they had the ‘support of 40 MLAs’ .
The exact number of rebel Shiv Sena MLAs who were traveling in the plane could not be confirmed, but there were 89 passengers, including the crew, on board, sources said.
The Shiv Sena, which leads the MVA, has 55 MLAs, followed by allies NCP (53) and Congress (44) in the 288-assembly where the current simple majority mark is 144.