Maharashtra crisis: Shiv Sena leader detained in Guwahati while 'NEGOTIATING' rebel MLAs' return

Party leader Sanjay Bhosale went to Guwahati to appeal to rebel Shiv Sena MLAs to return to chief minister Uddhav Thackeray's camp. But on Friday morning, he was detained outside the hotel by the Assam Police. Sanjay was protesting with posters outside the gate for not allowing him to enter the hotel. Then he was arrested. Assam Chief Minister and BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma is in charge of 'taking care' of rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde and his followers in Guwahati. The Uddhav camp has alleged that the police have kept the rebel MLAs under hotel arrest at his behest. 

Earlier there were allegations that the MLAs were detained at a resort in Surat too in Gujarat. Two Shiv Sena MLAs Kailash Patil and Nitin Deshmukh also made the allegation after they left the resort and returned to Mumbai after evading surveillance by Gujarat police. Seeing the developments of the last 24 hours, some political analysts feel that the 'Maha Vikas Aghadi' government in Maharashtra has reached the threshold of collapse. The number of disgruntled Shiv Sena MLAs who are in bjp's 'custody' in a Guwahati hotel has already touched 37. As a result, the anti-defection law will not be effective against rebel leader Eknath Shinde and his camp.

The Uddhav camp had suspended 12 rebel MLAs, including Shinde, on Thursday in a bid to create a rift in the rebel camp. An appeal was made to acting speaker Narhari Sitaram Zirwal to cancel their membership for anti-party activities. The names of four more MLAs were added to the list on Friday.