Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik bats for renewed ties with BJP

Mumbai, Jun 22: Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik has batted for reestablishing the ties with the party's former ally BJP, as the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra government faces a crisis following a revolt by a section of Sena MLAs led by Eknath Shinde.

Sarnaik had earlier written a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister and Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, saying the party should have ties with the BJP to save its leaders from action by central agencies.

Talking to reporters, Sarnaik said, "I had first mooted the idea that the Shiv Sena should go with the BJP."

Sarnaik, MLA from Thane's Ovala-Majiwada constituency, had in his letter to the CM last year said that the leaders from both the parties share a good relationship though the party had cut off ties.

Notably, the ED had recently attached assets worth over Rs 11 crore of Sarnaik in the money laundering case linked to the National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL), PTI reported.

A number of politicians and ministers of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, which comprises the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress, in the state have faced ED action in the recent past.

On Wednesday morning, a group of 40 Maharashtra MLAs, led by dissident leader Eknath Shinde, arrived in Guwahati and they were taken to a luxury hotel on the outskirts of the city amid tight security. Earlier, the MLAs were taken to Surat in Gujarat from Mumbai on Tuesday, and the decision to shift them to Guwahati in Assam was taken on security grounds, according to a BJP source.

Meanwhile, rebel Shiv Sena MLAs, led-by senior leader Eknath Shinde arrived in Guwahati in BJP-ruled Assam on Wednesday. They were received by BJP leaders Sushanta Borgohain and Pallab Lochan Das.

The flight from Surat in Gujarat landed at Guwahati's Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi international airport at around 6.30 am. PTI