15-20 rebel MLAs want to come back to the party, claims Aaditya Thackeray
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Maharashtra Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray said that 15-20 Shiv Sena MLAs who went to the rebel camp urged the party to bring them back. He added that the group is in touch with him from Guwahati.
He addressed Shiv Sena workers in Karjat and said every party worker is seeing the current situation as an opportunity and not as a problem. Referring to the rebels as "dirt", he said: "The dirt has gone away. Now we can do something good". He also compared the rebellion to "cleaning the 'nullahs' and garbage before the onset of monsoon".
The Sena has been claiming that some legislators have been forcibly taken to the rebel camp. "Their situation is like a prisoner, first in Surat and then in Guwahati," said Thackeray.
The son of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray added that there were murmurs before the revolt that some developments would take place. He added that the party "blindly trusted" some leaders and "such people were promoted in the organization continuously".
If it doesn't resolve, the rebellion can cost Shiv SDena the existence of the two-and-a-half-year-old government. A majority of the Sena MLAs, including nine ministers, are siding with Eknath Shinde, who is also a cabinet minister. Shinde claims to have the support of over 36 MLAs out of Sena's 55 legislators.