Eknath Shinde group to come to Mumbai on Thursday for floor test

Mumbai: Rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde on Wednesday said he will reach Mumbai on Thursday for floor test against the beleaguered Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena-NCP-Congress government in Maharashtra.

There has been no formal announcement from Raj Bhavan that the floor test is slated for Thursday, though a letter specifying June 30 as the floor test date, purportedly written by the Governor, went viral on Tuesday.

Shinde told reporters in Guwahati, where a large group of MLAs backing him is camping since a week, that he will reach Mumbai along with all his group legislators.

Shinde, who stepped out of the luxury hotel in Guwahati, the rebel group’s home for the last week, said he had offered prayers at Guwahati’s Kamakhya temple for peace and prosperity of people of Maharashtra.

Shinde’s announcement of returning to Mumbai came hours after BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, tipped to make a comeback as the chief minister, met Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari at Raj Bhavan Tuesday night and asked him to call for a floor test in the Assembly as the Thackeray-led government had lost majority after the Shinde group’s rebellion.