Maharashtra is currently at the centre of political turmoil. Shiv Sena's strongman Eknath Shinde has rebelled and had been camping in Surat with several MLAs from the state untill Tuesday night before they left for Assam... A move that has now put a question mark on the stability of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) dispensation also comprising NCP and Congress.
Pertinent to mention that Shinde revolted a day after BJP managed to win five of the ten seats up for grabs in the Maharashtra Legislative Council, displaying the support of 134 MLAs including 106 BJP MLAs, three each from Congress and Shiv Sena, and other independent MLAs.
Backed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde today took oath as the next Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
In a major twist to the political drama in the State, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday made the announcement after calling on Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari along with Shinde.
"Eknath Shinde to be Maharashtra Chief Minister, oath ceremony to be held at 7.30pm today," announces senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis in a joint press conference with Shinde
BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde reach Raj Bhawan; Fadnavis likely to take oath as Maharashtra CM today at 7 pm.
Hours after the 31-month-long, 3-party Maha Vikas Aghadi government collapsed after a 9-day political drama, hectic activity got underway on Thursday to form a new regime to be led by the Bharatiya Janata Party and the breakaway Shiv Sena faction.
The rebel MLAs along with their leader Eknath Shinde are waiting at the Radisson Blu hotel in Guwahati after visiting the Kamakhya temple in the day for the supreme court hearing scheduled at 5 p.m. on Wednesday. They will reportedly reach Mumbai on Thursday.
Earlier, around 50 rebel Maharashtra MLAs from Shiv Sena and Independent MLAs, on Wednesday along with their leader Eknath Shinde, left the Guwahati's Radisson Blu hotel and visited Kamakhya temple amid massive security.
The convoys of MLAs were seen to leave the hotel premises in individual cars and also in two Assam State Transport Corporation chartered buses and heading towards the famous Kamakhya temple atop Neelanchal hills on the bank of the Brahmputra river.
The rebel Shiv Sena MLAs, who have been camping here for last one week, are likely to leave for Goa this afternoon, en route Mumbai.
A SpiceJet aircraft has been hired and the flight is expected to leave Guwahati's Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport for Goa's Dabolim airport at around 3 pm, sources privy to the development told PTI.
The 39 rebel Shiva Sena MLAs and some independent MLAs are going to travel together in one aircraft to Goa and from there they are likely to travel to Mumbai.
The development came a day after Maharashtra's opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis met Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari in Mumbai, requesting him to ask Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to prove majority on the floor of the Assembly.
(PTI)
The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear at 5 pm the plea of Shiv Sena chief whip Sunil Prabhu challenging the Maharashtra Governor's direction to the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government to take floor test in the Assembly on Thursday.
Rolling the political ball, Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has directed the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi government of Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress to take a floor test and prove its House majority on June 30 (Thursday).
In an apparent softening of stance, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, who is also the Shiv Sena President, on Tuesday appealed to the rebel group camping in Guwahati to return and hold discussions, but rebel leader and state minister Eknath Shinde indirectly spurned the latest overtures.
"Many of you are in contact with us and are still emotionally connected with the Shiv Sena. The families of many have also got in touch with us and conveyed your sentiments to us," said Thackeray.
He assured that as the head of the Sena family, he respected their views and made it clear from his heart that till date "nobody is out of the party" though the (rebels) are stuck in Guwahati with all kinds of speculation.
"I appeal to you all... Come before me, let's remove all the misconceptions in the minds of the people and the Shiv Sainiks," Thackeray appealed.
Striking an aggressive note against the rebel faction led by Eknath Shinde, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Tuesday said those who have betrayed the party leadership should not be able to move around. "Traitors should not be able to roam on the streets," he said, addressing a rally at Alibag near here.
Notably, Maharashtra chief minister and Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray earlier in the day had adopted a reconciliatory tone when he asked the rebels to return to the state from Guwahati where they are camping, and talk out the issues.
Raut, at the public meeting, also slammed the rebel MLAs' claim that their fight was for protecting the party's Hindutva moorings, pointing out that more than half of them were earlier with the NCP.
Amid rebellion by senior minister Eknath Shinde, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday presided over a cabinet meeting here.
It was the first meeting cabinet meeting held after he divested rebel Shiv Sena ministers including Shinde of their portfolios.
Talking to reporters after the meeting, home minister and NCP leader Dilip Walse Patil said no political issues were discussed.
(PTI)
Slamming the rebel Shiv Sena MLAs' claim that their fight was for protecting the party's Hindutva moorings, Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Tuesday said more than half of them were earlier with the NCP.
Many rebel MLAs as well as their leader and senior Maharashtra minister Eknath Shinde have said that they did not approve of the Sena president Uddhav Thackeray's decision to sever the ties with the like-minded BJP and join hands with the NCP and Congress.
Speaking at a public rally at Alibag near Mumbai, Raut said, "The rebel MLAs supporting Eknath Shinde are saying their cause is to protect the Hindutva envisaged by party founder Balasaheb Thackeray.
"Twenty-two of them have come from the Nationalist Congress Party. What Hindutva they are talking about? Those who opposed Balasaheb Thackeray ended up ruining their own career," he said.
Rebel Shiv Sena MLA Eknath Shinde said on Tuesday that he will be in Mumbai soon, adding that he is accompanied by 50 MLAs who have come on their own.
Speaking to mediapersons outside the Radisson Blu hotel in Guwahati, Shinde said, "We are with the Shiv Sena and I'll be in Mumbai soon."
Shinde added, "50 MLAs are here on their own. No MLA is suppressed here, and everyone is happy. The MLAs are with us at the Guwahati hotel."
He also said that if the Shiv Sena in Mumbai claims that it is in touch with the MLAs present in Guwahati, it should reveal their names too.
"We are in Shiv Sena and will take the party ahead. We are taking forward Balasaheb Thackeray's Hindutva and there should be no doubt about this," he said.
(IANS)
BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya on Tuesday said his party was watching the turmoil in the ruling Shiv Sena in neighbouring Maharashtra from a distance.
The main constituent of the Maha Vikas Aghadi in the neighbouring state plunged into disarray on June 21 after senior leader Eknath Shinde rebelled against Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and was now in Guwahati with a sizable number of dissidents.
"We have no role in the current turmoil in Maharashtra. This (rebellion) is internal strife of the Shiv Sena. We are just standing at a distance and watching it," Vijayvargiya told reporters.
(PTI)
In an apparent softening of stance, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray -- who is also Shiv Sena President -- on Tuesday appealed to the rebel group camping in Guwahati to return and hold discussions.
"Many of you are in contact with us and are still emotionally connected with the Shiv Sena. The families of several have also got in touch with us and conveyed your sentiments to us," said Thackeray.
He assured that as the head of the Sena family, he respected their views and made it clear from his heart that till date "nobody is out of the party" though the (rebels) are stuck in Guwahati with all kinds of speculations.
"I appeal to you all. Come before me. Let's remove all the misconceptions among the minds of the people and the Shiv Sainiks," Thackeray appealed.
(IANS)
Sanjay Raut is NCP's blue-eyed boy. You may succeed in distancing Shiv Sena from BJP but if you are trying to distance Shiv Sena from Hindutva, how do you expect us to tolerate it?: Rebel Shiv Sena MLA Deepak Kesarkar
The Supreme Court on Monday queried whether the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker can become a judge in his own cause and decide whether the motion to remove him is invalid.
Amid a buzz that Shiv Sena MLA from Vikhroli Sunil Raut may switch sides, his brother -- party MP and Chief Spokesperson -- Sanjay Raut denied all such rumours, here on Monday.
There has been speculation since Sunday evening that Sunil Raut was planning to jump the ship and throw his lot with the rebel camp currently camping in Guwahati.
"All this is not true... He is very much with me," asserted Sanjay Raut on Monday, and Sunil Raut confirmed that he was present in Mumbai and not gone to Assam.
The rebels group has now claimed the support of around 39 Sena MLAs and another dozen independents/smaller parties' legislators with a legal battle now started in the Supreme Court.
(IANS)
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has handed over portfolios of nine rebel ministers, who are currently camping in Guwahati, to other ministers.
The portfolios of the rebel ministers were being handed over to other ministers for ease of administration, an official statement said.
Nine Maharashtra ministers have so far joined the rebel camp led by Eknath Shinde.
The Sena now has four cabinet ministers, including CM Uddhav Thackeray, Aaditya Thackeray, Anil Parab, and Subhash Desai.
Barring Aaditya Thackeray, the rest three are MLCs.
In the tripartite Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by the Sena, the Uddhav Thackeray-led party had 10 Cabinet-rank ministers before the rebellion and four Ministers of State (MoS), including two from the Sena quota.
All the four MoS have joined the rebel camp in Guwahati.
(PTI)
The Enforcement Director has summoned Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Tuesday for questioning in a money-laundering probe linked to the re-development of a Mumbai 'chawl', officials said.
Agroup of activists and civil society members have moved the Bombay High Court seeking directions to the Shiv Sena rebel group of Ministers and MLAs to "return to the state (Maharashtra) and assume their duties", here on Monday.
Rebel Shiv Sena MLA Eknath Shinde has approached Supreme Court against the disqualification notices issued by Deputy Speaker against rebel Maharashtra MLAs. Plea also challenges the appointment of Ajay Chaudhary as the Shiv Sena's legislative leader in the House in place of Shinde.
Maharashtra Minister of Higher and Technical Education Uday Samant left for Guwahati from Surat.
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, said Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray.
Shiv Sena workers staged a protest against the party's rebel MLAs Tanaji Sawant and Dnyanraj Chougule in Maharashtra's Osmanabad city and agitated against legislator Balaji Kalyankar outside his residence in Nanded on Saturday, an official said.
With the ongoing political crisis in Maharashtra worsening, the ruling ally Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Saturday demanded to know who is picking up the flights and hotels bills of the rebel Shiv Sena MLAs, currently camping in Guwahati.
Shiv Sena President and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday launched a scathing attack on purported attempts by the rebel group to christen itself after the party founder-patriarch, the late Balasaheb Thackeray.
Mumbai Police imposes prohibitory orders under Section 144 CrPC in Mumbai city
As pressures grew on the Shiv Sena and the rebel faction, both sides appeared set for a long-haul with legislative procedures and a possible legal battle likely to enter the play on day five of the Maharashtra political crisis here on Saturday.
Amid the mounting crunch, the rebel group leader Minister Eknath Shinde has reportedly told his supporters in Guwahati that a new government will be installed in 96 hours and urged patience.
(IANS)
Mumbai Police issues a high alert and asks all Police Stations to ensure security at all political offices in the city. It has been directed that officer-level Police personnel shall visit every political office to ensure their safety.
(ANI)
Shiv Sena workers vandalise office of the party's MLA Tanaji Sawant in Balaji area of Katraj, Pune. Sawant is one of the rebel MLAs from the state and is currently camping in Guwahati, Assam.
(ANI)
Amravati MP Navneet Rana requested Union Home Minister Amit Shah to provide security to families of MLAs who are leaving Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray and making their own decisions, staying connected with Balasaheb's ideology.
"Uddhav Thackeray's goondaism should be ended...I request for President's Rule in state," Amrawati MP stated.
Rebel Shiv Sena MLA Eknath Shinde writes to CM Uddhav Thackeray, Maharashtra Home Minister, DGP Maharashtra regarding "Malicious withdrawal of security of family members of the 38 MLAs. The government is responsible for protecting them and their families," he tweets.
(ANI)
Shiv Sena workers on Saturday vandalised an office of rebel Shiv Sena MLA Tanaji Sawant, who is currently in Guwahati as part of the Eknath Shinde camp.
A group of Sena workers barged into the office of Bhairavnath Sugar Works, which belongs to Sawant, and damaged the office located in Katraj area in the morning, party corporator Vishal Dhanawade, who was part of the action, said.
"The ransacking of Sawant's office is just the beginning and the offices of every traitor (rebel MLA) will be destroyed in the coming days," he said.
Sawant represents Paranda assembly constituency in Osmanabad district.
Majority of Shiv Sena MLAs have shifted their loyalty to Eknath Shinde and are camping in Guwahati, plunging the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, who heads the Sena, into a crisis.
(PTI)
Amid the political crisis in Maharashtra triggered by a rebellion by a large section of Shiv Sena MLAs, who are currently camping in Assam, the NCP on Saturday sought to know who was paying the bills of hotels in Guwahati and Surat.
The Sharad Pawar-led party, which shares power with Sena and Congress in the state, also asked the Income Tax Department and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to find out the source of "black money" involved.
NCP's chief spokesperson Mahesh Tapase asked, "Who is paying the bills of hotels in Surat and Guwahati as well as the chartered flight? Is it true that the horsetrading rate is Rs 50 crore?"
"If ED and IT get activated, the source of the black money will be exposed," he added.
In view of the ongoing political instability in the state, Thane District Administration has issued an order banning any kind of political procession, gathering or sloganeering in the dist till June 30.
Thane Police has currently imposed Sec 144 CrPC in Thane city.
(ANI)
Rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde calls a meeting at Radisson Blu Hotel in Guwahati this afternoon to discuss further strategy: Sources
(ANI)
The Shiv Sena has sent the names of four more rebel MLAs to the Maharashtra Assembly deputy speaker for initiating action of disqualification against them, a senior leader said.
The party will also issue notices to 16 MLAs of the rebel faction and ask them to respond by Monday, Sena MP Arvind Sawant said here on Friday.
The four legislators whose names were forwarded to the deputy speaker were Sanjay Raymulkar, Chiman Patil, Ramesh Bornare and Balaji Kalyankar, he said.
Despite issuing a letter to them, none of them attended party meeting on Wednesday evening here in Mumbai," Sawant said.
The party has already given names of 12 MLAs to the deputy speaker including leader of the rebel camp Eknath Shinde, seeking their disqualification.
Now, only chief minister Uddhav Thackeray can decide about allowing their return to Sena, otherwise party doors are closed for them forever. They have betrayed the saffron flag," Sawant said.
A large number of Assam Congress workers staged a protest outside the Radisson Blu hotel on the outskirts of Guwahati on Friday where over 40 Maharashtra MLAs led by rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde are camping since Wednesday.
The protesting Congress workers accused the state's BJP government of indulging in horse-trading to topple the Maharashtra government. Assam Congress President Bhupen Kumar Borah, MLA Rakibul Hussain and Debabrata Saikia, the leader of opposition in Assam Assembly, led the protest in front of Radisson Blu.
In a strongly-worded letter to Shinde, which has been accessed by IANS, Borah said that the presence of Maharashtra MLAs in Guwahati, who have been kept in a hotel for alleged horse-trading to topple an elected government, and the continued media coverage of the same, has not gone down well with the Assamese people and is creating an unhealthy atmosphere.
(IANS)
Maharashtra Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal is likely to send notices to 16 Shiv Sena rebel MLAs tomorrow for a hearing on the petition filed by Shiv Sena for their suspension. The hearing may take place on Monday, 27th June: Sources
(ANI)
As the Maharashtra political crisis continued for the 4th day, the rebels' group led by Minister Eknath Shinde proclaimed the support of 37 MLAs leaving the Shiv Sena with 17 legislators.
The rebels group submitted its claimed list to Deputy Speaker of Legislative Assembly Narhari Zirwal, late on Thursday, with the balance left with the Sena.
The rebels list also attached two resolutions stating that Shinde continues to be the chief of Shiv Sena Legislative Party, and appointed MLA Bharat Gogavale as the new Chief Whip, as the group contended its support has increased today to 41 Sena MLAs, plus a dozen independents and smaller parties today (June 24).
On the Sena side, the MLAs are: Aaditya Thackeray, Ajay Chaudhri, Sunil Prabhu, Ramesh Korgaonkar, Bhaskar Jadhav, Nitin Deshmukh, Vaibhav Naik, Kailash Patil, Sanjay Potnis, Rahul Patil, Prakash Fatarpekar, Santosh Bangar, Sunil Raut, Ravindra Waikar, Uday Samant, Rajan Salvi, and Udaysinh Rajput.
(IANS)
Digging in his heels, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday expressed determination to fight the political crisis gripping his government and took on cabinet minister Eknath Shinde, saying the rebel leader's son is a Lok Sabha MP and should his son Aaditya Thackeray not also grow politically as both sides showed no signs of backing down to break the four-day-old impasse.
Shiv Sena workers on Friday vandalized a board outside the office of party MLA Mangesh Kudalkar who is part of the group of rebel legislators led by senior Maharashtra minister Eknath Shinde, police said.
Kudalkar represents the Kurla assembly constituency in the city. He is camping in Guwahati along with Shinde and other Sena MLAs who have rebelled against Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
A group of Shiv Sena supporters gathered outside Kudalkar's office in Nehrunagar area of Kurla and tried to smash up a board bearing his name and photograph, said a police official. Before they could attack the MLA's office, police personnel on the spot intervened, following which they dispersed, he added.
Mumbai police have stepped up security at several locations including Shiv Sena `shakhas' (local offices) in the city to prevent any untoward incident following Shinde's rebellion.
(PTI)
Launching a scorching counter-attack on the rebels, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday dared them to win the elections "without using the name of Shiv Sena or the Thackerays", even as allies Nationalist Congress Party-Congress reiterated their commitment to save the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.
Addressing a meeting of Sena's district heads and others, Thackeray said that he has left the official residence 'Varsha', but not lost his "will to fight" for the party.
Slamming the rebels' leader Eknath Shinde, he recalled how he did a lot for him, yet Shinde was hurling a series of baseless allegations against the Sena and Thackeray.
"I did everything possible for Shinde... I allotted him the Urban Development portfolio which I handled. His son (Dr Shrikant Shinde) is a two-time MP and now they are commenting on my son (Minister Aditya Thackeray), and levelling many allegations even against me," said Thackeray.
(IANS)
Following is the timeline of Maharashtra political crisis till 6 pm on Friday.
Maharashtra political crisis: The strength of Shiv Sena MLAs in the Eknath Shinde camp is expected to cross 50 as more MLAs are likely to reach Guwahati today: Sources
(ANI)
MLAs should not communicate from Guwahati, they should come back to Mumbai and discuss all this with CM. We are ready to consider exiting out of MVA if this is the will of all MLAs, but for that, they have to come here & discuss it with the CM, said Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday.
All 42 rebel MLAs have come together for the first time in Guwahati. They shouted slogans of 'Shiv Sena zindabad' and 'Balasaheb Thackeray ki Jay.'
MLAs never got the opportunity to visit Varsha (CM's residence). People around the CM used to decide if we can meet him or not. We felt we were insulted. The CM never used to be in the Secretariat, instead, he used to be in Matoshree (Thackeray residence). We used to call people around the CM but they never used to attend to our calls. We were fed up with all these things and persuaded Eknath Shinde to take this step, read the letter of the rebel Shiv Sena MLAs shared by Eknath Shinde.
While we weren't able to meet the CM, people from our 'real opposition'- the Congress and the NCP used to get opportunities to meet him and even funds were given to them related to work in their constituencies. When Hindutva and Ram Mandir are crucial issues for the party, then why did the party stop us from visiting Ayodhya. MLAs were called and were stopped from going to Ayodhya during Aaditya Thackeray's visit to Ayodhya, read the Shiv Sena MLAs’ letter.
At 5 pm today, I have invited all our MLAs for a meeting to brief them on the ongoing developments. Our MPs, organisation chief (Sharad Pawar) will be there too: NCP's Jayant Patil on political instability in MVA
(ANI)
We had a meeting at the residence of Sharad Pawar. Assessment of incidents in last 3-4 days was done. Pawar sahib told us that we should do everything that needs to be done to ensure that the Govt remains. We will stand with Uddhav Thackeray, with this Govt: Jayant Patil, NCP
CM won't hold any meeting today, some MLAs are going to Varsha Bungalow for official work. Nitin Deshmukh (who returned to Nagpur from Surat yesterday and alleged abduction attempts) will hold a press conference: Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut
(ANI)
Amid the political crisis in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra, three more Shiv Sena MLAs on Thursday left for Guwahati in Assam to join the rebel camp led by cabinet minister Eknath Shinde.
Deepak Kesakar (MLA from Sawantwadi), Mangesh Kudalkar (Chembur) and Sada Sarvankar (Dadar) took a morning flight from Mumbai to Guwahati, a close associate of Shinde said.
On Wednesday evening, four MLAs, including Maharashtra minister Gulabrao Patil, had flown to Guwahati.
Shinde will consult the MLAs with him and then decide when to return to Mumbai, his associate said.
After reaching Guwahati on Wednesday, Shinde had claimed the support of 46 legislators, including some Independents.
He had given a letter to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly's deputy speaker, signed by 35 Sena MLAs, replacing Sunil Prabhu with Bharat Gogavale as the chief whip of the Shiv Sena legislature party.
Shinde has maintained that while the NCP and the Congress were growing stronger in the MVA alliance, the Shiv Sena, which heads the governing bloc, and its workers were getting systematically weakened.
(PTI)
After Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray vacated the official residence in Mumbai, Shiv Sena is now directly engaging with the rebel MLAs and talking to each of them through emissaries but with no hopes.
A senior functionary of the Sena said, "The magnitude of the rebellion is such that there are grim chances of survival, but we are engaging them and there are regular talks."
The Sena leader said the only hope is that the party thinks that many MLAs don't want to go into election, so if they are disqualified for violating the party line they have to seek re-election. If half the MLAs return, then the government could survive.
The Sena rebels are swelling, as the leader pointed out, who also added that no one could anticipate Shinde to do this as he was a trusted man of the top leadership.
(IANS)
Amid the revolt by Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday night vacated his official residence and moved to family home in suburban Bandra.
Thackeray moved out of 'Varsha', his official residence, for Matoshri, the private bungalow of the Thackeray family, amid high drama as the political crisis that has rocked his government after Shinde's revolt two days ago, showed no signs of ebbing.
Amid the ongoing political crisis in Maharashtra, an application has been moved, in a pending case in the Supreme Court, seeking direction for an up to 5-year bar on MLAs, who are either disqualified from the state Assemblies or have resigned.
Stoutly denying that the Shiv Sena had discarded Hindutva, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday said that he is ready to quit his post and also as party chief provided the rebels come and talk to him face-to-face.
A group of Maharashtra MLAs, led by dissident Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde, arrived here on Wednesday morning by a charter aircraft and were taken to a luxury hotel on the outskirts of the city amid tight security.
The MLAs were received at the airport by BJP MPs Pallab Lochan Das and Sushanta Borgohain Shinde, who initially refused to talk to mediapersons waiting outside the airport, later said he has 'the support of 40 MLAs'.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led government in Maharashtra appears to be in crisis after Shiv Sena minister Eknath Shinde and some MLAs of his party have gone incommunicado and camping in Surat, a day after suspected cross-voting in MLC polls, putting a question mark on the stability of the MVA dispensation.