We will stand firmly with Uddhav Thackeray till end: NCP leader Jayant Patil

Mumbaai, Jun 23: Amid the escalating political crisis in Maharashtra, state minister and Nationalist Congress Party leader Jayant Patil Thursday Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Jayant Patil has said his party will stand firmly with Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray till the end.

He took to Twitter and shared, "Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi is a government established for the development and welfare of Maharashtra. We will stand firmly with Uddhavji Thackeray till the end."

"At 5 pm today, I have invited all our MLAs for a meeting to brief them on the ongoing developments. Our MPs and organisation chief (Sharad Pawar) will be there too," Patil said.

The meeting of NCP MLAs will be held at YB Chavan Centre in Mumbai this evening.

Trouble for the MVA government seems to be far from over with rebel Shiv Sena MLA Eknath Shinde inching closer to garnering the support of 37 party MLAs, which is required to buck the anti-defection law.

Shinde has complained that while the NCP and the Congress (allied with the Sena as part of the MVA) are growing stronger, the Shiv Sena - which heads the coalition - is being systematically weakened.

Also on Thursday six more MLAs switched sides to join Shinde, whose camp strength is now believed to have gone to 38 - one more than neded to split the Sena without facing the anti-defection law.