Mumbai, June 24
In the wake of Shiv Sena minister Eknath Shinde’s rebellion, MP Sanjay Raut on Friday admitted that the party’s numbers in the Maharashtra Assembly have dwindled but expressed confidence that the rebel MLAs will support the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance during the floor test. , adding “the figures are subject to change at any time”.
He said the rebel MLAs would face the real test of their loyalty to the party when they return to Mumbai.
Raut also hit out at BJP leader Narayan Rane, without naming him, for “threatening” NCP chief Sharad Pawar.
Shinde is currently camping in a hotel in Guwahati along with 37 rebel Shiv Sena MLAs and nine independent MLAs.
Speaking to reporters, Shiv Sena’s chief spokesperson Raut admitted that his party’s numbers in the assembly were reduced due to the rebellion.
“The rebel group claims that it has the necessary numbers and democracy runs on numbers. But figures can change anytime. When the rebels return, it will be a test of their loyalty to Balasaheb Thackeray and the Shiv Sena,” he said.
“It is a legal battle. There are certain rules and directions of the Supreme Court,” the Shiv Sena MP said.
“The MVA (including Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress) are together. We are confident that the rebels will support the MVA during the floor test,” he said.
Earlier, talking to PTI, Raut said that the party is waiting for the rebels to return to Mumbai.
“Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is confident that most of the rebels will return to the party. The rebels will have to come back to Mumbai to meet the governor, followed by counting of votes and trust vote,” he said.
Raut took to Twitter to slam Union Minister Narayan Rane for “threatening” Sharad Pawar.
“Does BJP accept such language? Governments will come and go. But Maharashtra will not tolerate such language against Sharad Pawar,” he said.
Rane on Thursday took a jibe at Pawar, alleging that Pawar was threatening the rebel Shiv Sena MLAs and said that if anything happens to him in the Maharashtra Assembly, there will be consequences.
In a series of tweets in Marathi released in the evening, Rane said, “Sharad Pawar (rebels) is threatening the MLAs to come to the Maharashtra Assembly. They will definitely come and vote as per their wish. If there is any loss It happens that it will be difficult for them to go home.”