Shiv Sena leaders Milind Narvekar and Ravi Pathak have left from Surat's Le Meridien hotel after meeting rebel party leaders who are staying there.As Maharashtra's ruling coalition battles for survival in Mumbai, some 280km away in Surat in BJP-ruled Gujarat, luxury hotel Le Meridien has become the focus of all attention as it is currently hosting dissident Shiv Sena Minister Eknath Shinde and some rebel party MLAs, and the property has been turned into a virtual fortress with nearly 400 policemen guarding it since early Tuesday morning.After the arrival of Shinde, a key Sena leader, and other Sena MLAs from Maharashtra on Monday night, 300 to 400 policemen took positions inside and outside the hotel premises and put barricades on both entry and exit points to prevent any "unauthorised" person from entering the property from the main road.
Apart from the outer campus of the hotel, policemen are also deployed inside the hotel, especially on the floor where these 'rebel leaders' are staying. Since morning, DCP-level officers were seen visiting the premises at regular intervals and giving necessary instructions to on-duty police personnel. A large group of journalists and camera persons are camping outside the hotel to gather news on the dramatic political developments connected to Maharashtra, where the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) ruling coalition is battling its worst crisis since coming to power in November 2019.Maharashtra minister and some MLAs reached the hotel on late June 20 night, hours after Legislative Council polls which saw the BJP winning a fifth seat despite not having enough numbers in the Assembly, possibly due to suspected cross-voting from the ruling bloc besides support from Independent MLAs and those from smaller parties.After the Council poll results, Shinde went incommunicado and later it came to light he is camping in the hotel along with some party MLAs.