Shiv Sena MP taunts Shinde camp amid crisis; 'Can't even exist without Uddhav Thackeray'

Embroiled in a massive political turmoil, Shiv Sena leader and Lok Sabha member Arvind Sawant slammed the rebel Shiv Sena legislators and said that without Shiv Sena's chief Uddhav Thackeray, the Eknath Shinde group cannot exist.

Speaking to ANI on the current political crisis in Maharashtra, Member of Parliament Arvind Sawant on Saturday claimed that some of the rebel MLAs went to Assam with Eknath Shinde due to pressure and fear. He reiterated the similar claims of party leader Sanjay Raut and said that many rebel MLAs want to return to the party. 

"It's Maharashtra's misfortune that when there's unemployment & inflation, some people are only concerned about getting into power. Without Shiv Sena's chief, they (rebel MLAs) can't even exist, nobody will ask them. Some of them (rebel MLAs) went due to pressure and fear, that's why they were taken so far to Assam. Many MLAs are calling us that they want to come back," MP Arvind Sawant told ANI.

'Fighting to free Shiv Sena from MVA': Eknath Shinde

As the Shiv Sena staged a grand show of strength through a mega rally- 'roar of true Hindutva', the rebel group leader, Eknath Shinde uploaded a Tweet on June 25. Taking to the microblogging site Twitter, Shinde urged the people of Maharashtra to understand "the game" of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance, which has the Nationalist Congress Party and Congress apart from the Shiv Sena, holding power in Maharashtra. 

"I am fighting to free Shiv Sena from the clutches of the monstrous MVA. This fight is dedicated for the benefit of you Shiv Sainiks ...." the former Maharashtra Minister wrote in the post, which was uploaded after the rebel group was extensively attacked by key Sena leaders like Aaditya Thackeray and Bhaskar Jadhav.