Sanjay Raut's tweet came amid a buzz that the Uddhav Thackeray camp may face another major setback (File)
Shiv Sena's Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut, in a veiled attack, has termed the Eknath Shinde faction as "snakes". "Learn the skill of crushing the head too...Do not leave the forest because of the fear of snakes...Jai Maharashtra!!," he tweeted this morning.
The tweet was made amid indications from sources that the Uddhav-Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction seems to be in for another major setback with 12 of its 18 MPs being in touch with Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and are likely to join his camp.
Mr Shinde, who arrived in the national capital yesterday, is likely to make an announcement in a press conference on the matter, according to sources.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Mr Shinde said he was confident that all 18 Shiv Sena Lok Sabha MPs will meet him on Wednesday. The Supreme Court is set to hear the pleas filed by both factions of the Shiv Sena pertaining to the Maharashtra political crisis, tomorrow.
"Shiv Sena MPs will meet us. We have 18 MPs, not just 12," Mr Shinde said.
Talking about the purpose of his visit to the national capital, Mr Shinde said, "I have come to Delhi to hold a discussion regarding OBC reservations as the Maharashtra government is committed to providing justice to OBCs. It's important from the state's perspective. We held discussion with lawyers on our preparation for the OBC reservation case (in Supreme Court)."
Yesterday, Mr Shinde chaired a meeting of MLAs in Mumbai.
"Today, Ramdas Kadam came for the meeting after resigning...but we reappointed him and he will be working again for the Shiv Sena," Mr Shinde had said.
Mr Kadam, a former minister in the Uddhav Thackeray government, had resigned after he was expelled by the Uddhav Thackeray camp on Monday.
The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to list the petition preferred by 14 Shiv Sena MLAs of the Uddhav Thackeray challenging the initiation of "illegal" disqualification proceedings against them under the Tenth Schedule along with the other petitions related to Maharashtra's political crisis that are slated to be heard tomorrow.
The new writ petition was mentioned before the bench of CJI NV Ramana, Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli by Senior Advocate Devdat Kamat.
Speaking on the plea pending in the Supreme Court, Mr Shinde said, "We have unwavering faith and trust in our judiciary. In a democracy, the majority (in Assembly) holds significance. We have followed all rules."
This is Eknath Shinde's second visit to the national capital since taking oath of office on June 30. He is slated to return to Mumbai tonight.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)