Uddhav’s men keep watch on the flock

Shiv Kumar

Tribune News Service

Mumbai, November 24

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar today jointly briefed MLAs of their parties, lodged in different hotels in Mumbai, to keep their morale high.

Senior leaders of the two parties — Chhagan Bhujbal of the NCP and Aaditya Thackeray of the Shiv Sena — interacted with the MLAs and assured them that the Devendra Fadnavis government would lose the trust vote and would be ousted from office.

Sources say Thackeray’s men are keeping a watch on the MLAs of the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress. The Sena controls most of the trade unions in Mumbai’s hotels and this network was put to work to help the Sharad Pawar camp get back MLA Sanjay Bansod who had pledged allegiance to Ajit Pawar. 

Bansod was discovered by Shiv Sena union members at a suburban hotel and delivered to party leaders, who handed  him over to Sharad Pawar. After several meetings, Sena leaders Uddhav and Aaditya Thackeray posted pictures of themselves with Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule under hashtag #MahaStrength. While Sena’s MLAs have been corralled at Lalit Hotel, the NCP and the Congress have parked their legislators at the Renaissance and JW Marriott.

The NCP said three of its MLAs who had defected to the Ajit Pawar camp had returned. Manikrao Kokate, Anil Patil and Nitin Pawar said they would back Sharad Pawar. Another MLA, Daulat Daroda, against whom a “missing person” complaint was filed, said he was with the NCP. “I am safe. I am not leaving the party. I will support whatever decision is taken by Sharad Pawar, Ajit Pawar and Chhagan Bhujbal,” he said.

Bhujbal later said 49 of the 54 NCP MLAs were with Sharad Pawar  “The NCP-Congress-Shiv Sena will form the next government in Maharashtra,” he claimed.