Pune: Amid a major crisis facing the Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government, its constituent Nationalist Congress Party's supremo Sharad Pawar on Tuesday called an emergency meeting of NCP laeders in Mumbai on Tuesday.
With speculations doing the rounds that rebel Shiv Sena MLA, Eknath Shinde, may float new party or even join BJP amid his disappearance since Monday's MLC poll results, Shinde's symapthisers and even a top party leader told UNI the move comes as the Maharashtra Urban Development Minister felt "always neglected in Shiv Sena"
Shinde, who enjoys Cabinet-rank in the MVA government, is presently holding on to at least 32 MLAs at a Surat resort. All MLAs loyal of Shinde reportedly moved to Hotel Le-Meridian in the BJP-ruled state, a day after inflicting a blow to the ruling Sena-NCP-Congress coalition in the MLC elections, where the BJP won five seats, due to alleged cross-voting.
Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole alleged that the BJP is misusing power, they are making a farce of the Indian democracy.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray too, has called an emergency meeting of all his party leaders, including MPs, MLAs at his official residence "Varsha" to discuss the development.
Shinde is likely to address media from Surat at around 2 pm, sources said.
The BJP won five seats in the MLC election with Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party bagging two each.
BJP managed to win big in the election despite being short in numbers. There are 106 BJP MLAs in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, while the remaining votes for its candidates have either come from independent MLAs, or those from small parties or from other parties.