BJP is keeping fingers crossed and hoping that the apex court will deliver a verdict in favour of the current dispensation in Maharashtra.Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “We had done everything (government formation) in accordance with law. We have done nothing wrong and therefore hopeful.” Fadnavis further stated, “ I can state with certainty that Eknath Shinde will continue as the CM. And the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections will be contested under his leadership in Maharashtra.” It could be a ‘make or break’ day for Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the Shiv Sena faction led by him as a five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court is set to pronounce on Thursday its verdict on a batch of petitions filed by rival Shiv Sena in connection with the Maharashtra political crisis. The bench led by CJI DY Chandrachud also comprises Justices MR Shah, Krishna Murari, Hima Kohli and PS Narasimha.The Supreme Court bench is expected to decide whether Eknath Shinde and 15 other Shiv Sena MLAs could be disqualified for revolting against then CM Uddhav Thackeray in June last year.
Uddhav Thackeray had pleaded before the Supreme Court to step in after Shinde, backed by the opposition BJP, engineered a split into Shiv Sena and later formed a new government in Maharashtra with the support of majority MLAs. If Eknath Shinde is disqualified, he will have to resign as Maharashtra Chief Minister and his government will be disbanded. The bench then said that some of the issues involved in the Maharashtra political crisis may require a larger Constitution bench for consideration. There are various petitions pending before the apex court filed by both factions of Shiv Sena. On June 29, 2022, the top court gave a go-ahead to the floor test in the Maharashtra Assembly on June 30.It had refused to stay the Maharashtra Governor’s direction to the then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to prove his majority support on the floor of the House on June 30. After the apex court’s order, Uddhav Thackeray announced his resignation as the Chief Minister and Eknath Shinde was later sworn in as the Chief Minister.