Sources say Shinde, who is reportedly upset, is “unreachable”. Palghar MLA Srinivas Vanga, Aligarh legislator Mahendra Dalvi and Bhiwandi Rural Shantaram More are also “unreachable”, it is learnt.
Opposition BJP’s sources have claimed that besides the 12 MLAs from Sena, there are five Independent MLAs at the Surat hotel too.
This comes hours after the Maha Vikas Aghadi ruling alliance and the BJP won five seats each in the Legislative Assembly elections.
Opposition BJP won all five seats it contested. Congress candidate and Dalit leader Chandrakant Handore lost, in a setback for the ruling alliance.
Shinde, it is learnt, may address the media at noon. The situation may turn into a major crisis for the ruling alliance of Shiv Sena, the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party.
A prominent Sena leader in Thane, Shinde has played a key role in strengthening the organisation in the region. His son, Dr Shrikant Shinde, is Sena’s Member of Parliament from Kalyan.
Seen as a mass leader, Shinde was named Leader of the Opposition in 2014 after the Shiv Sena parted ways with the BJP. When the Maha Vikas Aghadi government was formed, he was appointed cabinet minister for Urban Development and Public Works (Public Undertakings).
Of late, there have been reports that Shinde is upset with the leadership and has been feeling sidelined.
Former Sena leader Narayan Rane, who is now with the BJP, had a cheeky response. “No comments should be made on such things, else what is the point of being unreachable,” he said.
Mahesh Tapase, spokesperson for the Nationalist Congress Party, told NDTV that the future of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government is “absolutely safe”.
With inputs from NDTV
The post Shiv Sena minister Eknath Shinde disappears with MLAs first appeared on IPA Newspack.
