Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray claimed that on May 20, CM Uddhav Thackeray had asked Eknath Shinde to become CM if he wanted to, but at that time he did drama and now just a month later, he rebelled.

Aditya Thackeray said this at the Yuva Sena national executive meeting. “But they (Shinde faction) aren’t capable of doing so, this isn’t rebellion, this is separatism. They took undue advantage of CM Uddhav Thackeray’s ill-health to do all this,” he said.

While terming rebel MLAs as “traitors”, Thackeray said Maharashtra will never forgive those who have betrayed Shiv Sena.

“Shiv Sena’s doors are open for those who want to leave and those who want to return to the party. Those rebel MLAs who are traitors will not be taken back into the party,” he said.

Attacking the group of MLAs who are currently in Guwahati hotel, Aaditya Thackeray said it is good that some dirt has gone away from the party.

He challenged rebel MLAs and asked them to resign and fight the election.

“This is happening for the first time in the state that the ruling party MLAs left the party to sit in the opposition. People are telling their numbers but I want to say that we have the figures. I challenge them to resign and contest the elections. The truth will come out,” Shiv Sena’s leader said.

The political turbulence in Maharashtra was triggered by the faction war in Shiv Sena after Minister Eknath Shinde flew to Surat with some MLAs and then to Guwahati where he claimed of having the support of 38 MLAs of the 55 Shiv Sena legislators, which is more than two-thirds of the party’s strength in the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.

It means that they can either leave and form another political party or merge with another without being disqualified from the state assembly.

According to sources, Maharashtra deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal has sent notices to the 16 Shiv Sena rebel MLAs. The MLAs have to be present in Mumbai on Monday for the hearing of disqualification.

Notably, Zirwal has earlier approved the appointment of Ajay Choudhary as Shiv Sena Legislature Party leader, replacing Shinde, the state cabinet minister who rebelled against the Shiv Sena leadership.

Zirwal also turned down the Shinde camp’s suggestion to appoint rebel Shiv Sena MLA Bharat Gogawale as the chief whip of the legislature party in place of Sunil Prabhu.

Interestingly, the Shinde faction named their group as ‘Shiv Sena Balasaheb’.

The naming of the group after the name of the Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray attracted sharp reactions from the Uddhav faction as the Chief Minister said that those who left the party should not seek votes in the name of the party founder.

Meanwhile on Sunday, supporters of rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde blackened posters of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in Thane on Sunday.

On the other hand, Shiv Sena workers held ‘joote maro andolan’ against rebel Shiv Sena MLAs in Pune, Maharashtra.