Nagpur: Maharashtra witnessed the end of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government on Wednesday after chief minister Uddhav Thackeray stepped down from his position a few hours ahead of the floor test.
The floor test, demanded by the BJP was supposed to take place on June 30 at 11 am. The Supreme Court refused to stay on the floor test. Soon after the top court’s decision, Thackeray went on air to announce his resignation. He also resigned from his MLC seat.
“I am resigning as the chief minister. I am not the one to be scared, but rather than spilling the blood of the Shiv Sainiks on the streets, I will step down,” Thackeray said.
At around 12 am, Thackeray tendered his resignation to governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari. The Sena chief was asked to officiate as the chief minister of Maharashtra until an alternate arrangement was made.
On the other hand, at midnight BJP’s ‘Chanakya’ Devendra Fadnavis interacted and met MLAs at a meeting of BJP Maharashtra and independent MLAs in Mumbai’s Taj Hotel.
Meanwhile, the rebel Sena MLAs were accompanied by Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant at Taj Hotel in Panaji.
After submitting his resignation to the governor, Thackeray offered prayers at a temple with his sons – Aditya and Tejas. At the age of 62, Thackeray faced his worst political crisis in his short-termed political life.
Hours after resignation, Sena leader Sanjay Raut said, “Shiv Sena is not born for power, power is born for Shiv Sena. This has always been Balasaheb Thackeray’s mantra. We will work and come back to power on our own once again.”
