Maharashtra Budget Session 2023: Shiv Sena-Thackeray face-off over whip; second day of session

Shiv Sena's lawyers had issued a whip during the supreme court hearing and said they would not take action. Even after this, Shiv Sena spokesperson Bharat Gogawale issued a whip to all Shiv Sena MLAs on Sunday. As a result, state politics are extremely heated. Following the power struggle, the name-symbol, now the Shiv Sena-Thackeray have met on the whip. So the opposition is set to take an aggressive stance, as the chief minister called the opposition traitors.

He also warned that he would take action after two weeks if the whip was not followed. The Thackeray group has taken a stand that we did not get a whip on this and would not follow it even if it did. Against this backdrop, there is a possibility of confusion in the budget session today.

The budget session started yesterday. This is the first session of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' government. Bharat Gogawale had issued a whip ordering all Shiv Sena MLAs to attend the session full-time.

On the other hand, after the Shinde faction issued a whip to MLAs supporting the Thackeray faction as a Shiv Sena party in the assembly, Eknath Shinde has now initiated moves to stake claim to the Shiv Sena party in the Legislative Council as well.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has written a letter to Deputy Speaker Neelam Gorhe asking her to appoint a Shiv Sena party spokesperson to the legislative council. Shinde's letter mentioned that a resolution to elect Viplav Gopikishan Bajoria as the party's spokesperson was passed at the Shiv Sena legislature party meeting.