Eknath Shinde, leading a revolt against Uddhav Thackeray, has claimed the backing of over 40 MLAs but this has been challenged by party leader Sanjay Raut, who said at least half of them were "in touch" to come back.
Mr Shinde, camping in Guwahati with around 41 MLAs, tweeted a stinging letter by a legislator accusing the Maharashtra Chief Minister of shutting his doors to them and keeping them waiting for hours. "We were denied entry to the Chief Minister's house for 2.5 years," wrote Sanjay Shirsat, one of the MLAs in Guwahati with the rebels.
The MLAs, however, do not want Uddhav Thackeray to resign as Chief Minister of Maharashtra. "Instead, we want him to get into an alliance with the BJP and form a new government with a natural ally," said Deepak Kesakar, who is among the three MLAs who joined the rebel camp this morning.
