Uddhav Thackeray's government faces a tough test with rebels staying firm
Uddhav Thackeray, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, wanted to resign after the Shiv Sena revolt exploded but was stopped twice by a senior alliance leader, sources have said.
The Shiv Sena chief stopped short of resigning "not once but twice", the sources said. They did not reveal the name of the leader who stopped Mr Thackeray, but it was Sharad Pawar - the brain behind the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition that melded ideologically opposed parties - who held multiple meetings with the Shiv Sena chief in the rebels crisis.
Mr Thackeray, sources say, would have resigned on June 21 (last Tuesday), the day Eknath Shinde and 21 rebels moved to Surat in BJP-ruled Gujarat and went incommunicado.
Uddhav Thackeray decided to quit the same day and had planned to announce it in a Facebook livestream around 5 pm, said sources, adding that the Shiv Sena chief had a feeling that many more rebels were waiting to cross over.
"But he was persuaded not to quit by the biggest leader of the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance," the sources said.
The next day, Mr Thackeray again decided to announce his resignation. He even called a meeting of officials by way of a farewell, said the sources.
But the top leader once again learnt of his intentions and stepped in.
Mr Thackeray had called a Facebook Live at 4 pm, amid huge signs that he could resign, but it was delayed by at least half an hour.
"The reason it was delayed was that the top leader tried to talk Mr Thackeray out of resigning," the sources said.
The leader reportedly told the Chief Minister to approach the problem calmly and strategically and fight it, instead of giving up.
When the Chief Minister finally spoke to the public, he said he was "ready with his resignation letter" but wanted the rebels to say it to his face. "I will quit if even one rebel comes to me and complains to me in person," Mr Thackeray said.
Hours later, he dramatically moved out of the Chief Minister's official bungalow in Mumbai and returned to his family home "Matoshree", the short ride turning into a huge show of strength by supporters of the Thackerays.
Even after Mr Thackeray's appeal, including a direct phone call, Eknath Shinde and the rebels flew to Assam, another BJP-ruled state, in the dead of night.
The rebel group has only grown since then. If Mr Shinde's supporters are to be believed, there are 50-plus MLAs, including 40 from the Sena, at the five-star hotel in Guwahati that has turned into a base camp of the Maharashtra rebellion.