Tame end to Maha crisis; Uddhav QUITS

Mumbai: The week-long Maharashtra political crisis, which was expected to reach the climax with a showoff in the state Assembly on Thursday, petered out with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, who has been leading the Maha Vikas Aghadi(MVA) government for the past two- and-a-half years, quitting a day ahead of the trust vote ordered by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.

In an impassioned plea before announcing his resignation as CM and member of the Legislative Council, Uddhav said he had been betrayed by his own followers, hinting at the rebel Eknath Shinde camp. He said he was not going anywhere and would galvanise his loyalists and recoup.

Thackeray’s resignation came after the Sena’s last ditch effort to avoid a trust vote in the assembly with the numbers stacked against it failed with the Supreme Court refusing to stay the Governor’s decision ordering the CM to face a floor test.

Koshyari on Wednesday said the trust vote proceeding should be completed by 5 pm on Thursday and the Sena knew securing a victory was impossible with 40 MLAs and 10 Independents deciding to withdraw support to the government.

Meanwhile, celebrations broke out in the BJP camp which has 106 MLAs with former CM Devendra Fadnavis expected to be invited by the Governor to form the next government and likely to take oath on July 1.

It remains to be seen what role the Shinde group will play in government formation and whether they will be recognised as a separate group or lay claim to the Sena legacy as a majority of Sena MLAs are now backing Shinde. There were reports earlier that Shinde would be made Deputy CM.