Mumbai: The planning of a revolt in Shiv Sena started around six months after Uddhav Thackeray became chief minister of Maharashtra in November 2019 and the rebel leaders who left for Guwahati later were the main conspirators, a Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA has claimed. The MLA from Akola district, Nitin Deshmukh, also said that the claim of Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis that he made Shinde the chief minister is false.

After his revolt pulled down the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government, Shinde took oath as the chief minister on June 30, 2022, with Fadnavis as his deputy.

“A month before the revolt (in June 2022), Shinde had told me that he would be the chief minister and that Fadnavis only knew how to bring down a government. Only Shinde and Union Home Minister Amit Shah knew who was going to be the chief minister,” Deshmukh claimed.

He and another Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Kailas Patil, who hails from Osmanabad, were speaking in an interview with party leader Aadesh Bandekar in a podcast released on the party’s Youtube channel. The first part of the podcast was released on Friday.

The video comes ahead of Shiv Sena’s 57th foundation day on June 19.

Responding to a question about whether there was an inkling of a split in Shiv Sena or whether MLAs would form a separate group, Deshmukh said, “This (the revolt) did not happen all of a sudden. It started six to seven months after Uddhav Thackeray became the chief minister”. Deshmukh said he had discussed the matter with his personal assistant and they thought the number of MLAs who could switch sides would not go beyond 22. The Shiv Sena won 56 seats in the 2019 Assembly elections in the 288-member House.

“So we thought this (revolt and change in the government) will never happen,” Deshmukh said.

He claimed MLAs were not allowed to meet together to discuss this matter. However, senior leaders were together on this issue.

“Now Gulabrao Patil (a supporter of Eknath Shinde and current minister who had also served in MVA government) says that we left for (Guwahati) later. I think that those who left (for Guwahati) later were the main conspirators which is why they were behind,” Deshmukh added.

On June 20, 2022, Shinde and some MLAs of Shiv Sena (undivided) reached a hotel in Surat, hours after Maharashtra Legislative Council polls saw the BJP winning a fifth seat despite not having enough numbers in the Assembly.

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. The number later swelled and MLAs loyal to Shinde were flown to Guwahati.

Shinde and other MLAs returned to Mumbai on June 29 via Goa after Uddhav Thackeray resigned as the chief minister without facing the floor test.

It emerged later that Shinde has the support of 39 out of 56 MLAs of Shiv Sena, which is headed by Uddhav Thackeray.

Kailas Patil claimed that while being taken to Surat, the first stop where rebel MLAs were lodged, he escaped from a car on the Maharashtra-Gujarat border.

Deshmukh was one of the MLAs who had gone to Surat, but later came back to Mumbai and swore allegiance to Thackeray.