Maha CM Shinde seeks appointment of new chief whip of Shiv Sena in Legislative Council

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has written a letter to the state Legislative Councils deputy chairperson seeking that Viplove Bajoria be made the Shiv Senas chief whip in the Upper House, a move apparently aimed at further cornering the faction led by former CM Uddhav Thackeray.

Currently, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MLC Anil Parab is the partys chief whip in the House.

Shinde has given the letter to state Legislative Councils deputy chairperson Neelam Gorhe, who is part of the Thackeray camp. The Budget session of the Maharashtra legislature began on Monday.

Bharat Gogawale, the Shiv Senas chief whip in the state Assembly, on Sunday evening said, We have issued a whip to all MLAs of the Shiv Sena asking them to remain present full-time during the Budget session. If any legislator does not follow it, he/she will face action.” The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-Shinde bloc in the state currently does not have a majority in the Upper House.

Amid the high decibel political and legal battle between rival Shiv Sena groups, Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar last week said he has not got representation from any group claiming to be a separate party in the Lower House.

The Speaker told

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Federal staff and is auto-published from a syndicated feed.)