Shinde ready for next action

Guwahati: Shiv Sena rebel Eknath Shinde said on Tuesday that he would go to Mumbai 'soon' and 'take Balasaheb Thackeray's legacy forward', indicating that he is ready to launch his next play and challenge Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to a test of strength.

"I have 50 people with me in Guwahati, they have come of their own accord and for Hindutva. We all will go to Mumbai soon," Shinde told reporters, stepping out of the luxury hotel in Guwahati where he and other rebels have been staying since Wednesday last. He also said he would speak to Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.

Shinde, reports suggest, may fly to Mumbai or Delhi on Tuesday evening for consultations with the BJP, which was the main enabler of the staggering revolt that has seen Uddhav Thackeray lose most of his party MLAs to the rival camp.

The BJP's Devendra Fadnavis, a former Maharashtra Chief Minister, is in Delhi, sources say.

Shinde had been flown by chartered plane from Guwahati to Gujarat's Vadodara after midnight on Friday last for a meeting with Fadnavis and BJP's top strategist, Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

"I am not leaving the Shiv Sena. I am the real Shiv Sena," Shinde told reporters, rubbishing the claims of team Thackeray that some 15-20 MLAs were in touch with them and wanted to return to Mumbai.

Sources suggest Shinde and the rebels may be inclined to move for a no-confidence motion in the Assembly before the court's deadline.