'Even if 16 MLAs are disqualified...': Ajit Pawar's big claim after SC verdict on real Shiv Sena

NCP leader and former Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Monday said there was no threat to the Maharashtra government of BJP and Eknath Sinde's Shiv Sena. "Even if 16 MLAs are disqualified, the government of Shinde and Fadnavis will not fall. There is no threat to the government," he said amid speculations that he may at some point join hands with the BJP.  

While it was not clear in which context he made these remarks, they assume significance considering the recent verdict of the Supreme Court on real Shiv Sena. The ruling coalition currently has 162 MLAs, 17 more than the required number to form government in Maharashtra. BJP and Sena together have 145 MLAs.  
 
The Shiv Sena was divided after a bunch of MLAs close to Eknath Shinde refused to continue with the then coalition of Sena, Congress, and NCP. After the split, Uddhav Thackeray resigned as chief minister and moved the top court claiming his faction was real Shiv Sena. Shinde, who claimed that he had not left the party and his faction was real Shiv Sena, formed the government with BJP.  

In February, the EC recognised the Shinde faction as the real Shiv Sena and alloted it the 'bow and arrow' symbol. However, the Supreme Court last week said the Speaker's decision to appoint Bharat Gogawale of the Shinde faction as the whip of Shiv Sena was illegal.

The top court also pulled up then Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and said he did not have reasons based on objective material before him to reach the conclusion that then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray had lost the confidence of the House. The court said that relief was due for Thackeray if he had not resigned before facing the floor test.

Following the verdict, Uddhav Thackeray sought the resignation of Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis on moral grounds. However, Shinde said he staked claim to form the government within the legal and constitutional framework and it has now got the stamp of the Supreme Court.
 
Thackeray also lambasted the role of the then-Governor who had called upon him to face a trust vote following the rebellion by a section of Shiv Sena MLAs. He quit without facing a trust vote in the Assembly, paving the way for Shinde to take over as CM with support from the BJP and Fadnavis as his deputy.