Shiv Sena rebel Eknath Shinde, leading a staggering coup against party chief Uddhav Thackeray, was spotted at a Guwahati temple this morning.
He visited the Kamakhya temple in Guwahati along with some rebel MLAs who have been staying at a five-star hotel in the city since last week. Assam BJP MLA Sushanta Borgohai also accompanied the rebels to the temple.
Eknath Shinde told NDTV that he would be flying to Mumbai as the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government faces the test of majority in the Maharashtra Assembly tomorrow.
"We will return to Mumbai tomorrow to complete the necessary formalities," he said.
Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has asked Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to prove majority tomorrow. The governor has written to Assembly Secretary Rajendra Bhagwat to convene a special session at 11 am on June 30.
Team Thackeray has gone to the Supreme Court with the argument that Maharashtra's Governor's order is illegal as 16 rebel MLAs have yet to respond on their possible disqualification. The top court will hear the matter this evening.
This comes a day after BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis met the governor and claimed that the MVA alliance has lost majority as 39 rebel MLAs have withdrawn their support to the coalition.
Before meeting the governor, the BJP leader met the party high command in Delhi yesterday.
Mr Shinde claims he has the backing of around 50 MLAs, nearly 40 from the Shiv Sena and they would "take Balasaheb Thackeray's legacy forward".
On Monday, the Supreme Court gave Mr Shinde and 15 rebels time till July 12 to respond to notices to disqualify them.
The Supreme Court refused to pass orders on Team Thackeray's request that no floor test be allowed till July 12. "If anything illegal happens, you can always move this court," it said.
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