Shinde-camp MLAs & Dy CM Fadnavis hold 'strategy' meeting for crucial floor test on July 4

MLAs from the BJP and Shinde-camp in the presence of Shinde and Fadnavis, attended a meeting to strategise for the crucial floor test on July 4. The MLAs congregated at a hotel in Mumbai after posting a win in the form of getting Rahul Narwekar (164 votes) elected as the Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly.

The floor test was initially scheduled for June 30 but got postponed after the former CM Uddhav Thackeray resigned in the wake of an affirmative Supreme Court decision for the floor test to be held as per the Governor's direction.

Earlier, fresh cracks emerged in the Shiv Sena after the Uddhav faction and the Shinde faction issued separate whips to their MLAs to vote for their nominee. Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar had taken on record the whip issued by Bharat Gogawale, who is the Chief Whip of the Eknath Shinde-led faction. The whip had mentioned about the violation by 16 Shiv Sena MLAs of the party direction, which Gogawale had earlier issued.

Who controls Shiv Sena? 

A long battle is ahead for both the factions on who controls the Shiv Sena, its election symbol and party offices including the Shiv Sena Bhavan. It is likely the Election Commission is where the battle will reach next. The Shinde-camp has 39 MLAs, while the Uddhav Thackeray group has 16 MLAs including his son Aaditya Thackeray. The Shinde faction has already begun the legal process of disqualifying the 16 MLAs, who had earlier violated the party order to not attend a meeting called by the party.

In a related development, the Supreme Court on July 1 agreed to hear the plea of the Shiv Sena Chief whip Sunil Prabhu seeking disqualification of 15 MLAs and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde against whom the disqualification pleas are pending, on July 11, saying it was "fully conscious" of the issue.

The Uddhav Thackeray camp got a big blow in the SC on July 2, when the SC, ahead of the speaker election on July 3, refused to hear the plea on an urgent basis citing the pendency of the previous plea seeking the disqualification of the 15 lawmakers including CM Eknath Shinde, allowing the 16 MLAs from the Shinde camp to vote in the Speaker election. 

How the numbers stack up for floor test

Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)

Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction) - 16 
NCP                                                       - 53 (2 in Jail)
Congress                                               - 44
SP                                                          -   2
AIMIM                                                     -  2
*1 Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke passed away last month 

BJP - Eknath Shinde faction of Shiv Sena

Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) - 39 MLAs  
BJP                                                 - 106
MNS                                                - 1
Independent MLAs                          - 12 (Have shown support for the alliance)

Image: ANI