After a days of turmoil within the Shiv Sena that overturned the fate of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday, 29 June, stepped down as the chief minister of the state following the Supreme Court's order to conduct a floor test on Thursday. He also resigned as the Member of the Legislative Council (MLC).
"I am giving up the post of the chief minister. All of you gave me your love and blessings and I am thankful for that, but I won't be cowed down or get scared," he said.
In his address to the state via Facebook, Thackeray thanked his party workers, supporters, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar and the Congress party for supporting him while his "own people betrayed and backstabbed him and the Shiv Sena."
Thackeray also appealed to all party workers to maintain peace on Thursday and not create hurdles for the rebel leaders who are scheduled to return to the state tomorrow.
"I want to tell all rebel MLAs that you come, take oath and attend the floor test without any worry," he said.
After the resignation, rebel Shiv Sena leader Deepak Kesarkar, speaking on behalf of the Eknath Shinde camp, said that the news of Thackeray's resignation was a sad one for them. Kesarkar blamed Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut, along with the Congress and the NCP for the crisis.
The rebel Sena MLAs and leaders led by Shinde arrived in Goa on Wednesday night after camping in Guwahati for over a week.
Meanwhile, the mood at the BJP office in Mumbai was celebratory following Thackeray's resignation with chants in support of former CM Devendra Fadnavis.
After maintaining that the BJP had nothing to do with the crisis and had not contacted rebel leader Eknath Shinde at any point, Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil on Wednesday said that the rebel Sena leaders should return to Mumbai only on the "day of oath-taking." Fadnavis said that he will speak to the media on the party's strategy on Thursday.
Former Maharashtra CM and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis being fed sweets by Maharashtra BJP President Chandrakant Patil after Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray resigned from Maharashtra CMs post.
(Photo: PTI)
The Congress said that Uddhav Thackeray should have waited till the Assembly session on Thursday to resign
The BJP said that the Sena got into an unsustainable alliance with the Congress and the BJP which was never meant to survive
Hours before resigning, CM Uddhav Thackeray held a meeting of the state cabinet on Wednesday, and passed a series of resolutions, including changing names of Aurangabad and Osmanabad
Thackeray in the meeting thanked the Congress and the NCP for their support, and said that his own people betrayed him
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Maharashtra Congress Chief Lauds Uddhav's Tenure
Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole took to Twitter to say: "Uddhav Ji was one of the finest chief ministers. With administrative experience, he handled the state in the best possible manner in its toughest times. You will be remembered by the people as one of the most sensitive chief ministers. Thank you!"
'Rebel MLAs Should Return on the Day of Oath-Taking': BJP
Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil said that all rebel MLAs should not return to the state tomorrow as planned.
"Those who were reaching Mumbai tomorrow, I urge them not to come tomorrow, they should come on the day of oath-taking," he said.
Asked about the party's future strategy, former CM Devendra Fadnavis said that "he will tell everything tomorrow."
Uddhav Thackeray Submits Resignation to Governor
Uddhav Thackeray submitted his resignation to Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari at Raj Bhavan in Mumbai.
He was accompanied by his son and former minister Aditya Thackeray.
'It's a Sad Day For Us': Rebel Shiv Sena Leader Deepak Kesarkar
Reacting to CM Uddhav Thackeray's resignation, rebel leader deepak Kesarkar said: "This is a sad news for us. Along with the NCP and the Congress, Sanjay Raut is responsible for this. His comments widened the divide between the Centre and the state and Maharashtra had to suffer for it," he told ABP Majha.
Kesarkar further said that the allies made constant efforts to sideline the Shiv Sena.
"He respected Pawar's words more than ours since he is a senior leader. But he never understood that Pawar will think only for his party and not ours. This is the result of it," Kesarkar said.
"None of the Sena MLAs asked for his resignation, but Pawar did. Pawar made it a legal battle and got disqualification processes initiated against us. Was a Shiv Sainik more important or Pawar?" he asked.