Uddhav Thackeray's new move: plea in Supreme Court to challenge Governor's invite to Eknath Shinde to form Maharashtra govt

The Shiv Sena faction led by Uddhav Thackeray filed yet another petition in the Supreme Court on 8 July over the recent chaos in Maharashtra. In the latest plea, the Uddhav camp challenged the Maharashtra Governor's decision to invite the coalition of Sena rebels and BJP, led by Eknath Shinde to form the government.

The petition says that 16 rebel MLAs who were facing disqualification proceedings should not have been allowed to vote in the floor test. The apex court has been asked to decide on the disqualification of rebels.

Team Thackeray has also challenged Rahul Narwekar's election as Assembly Speaker and the floor test that proved the rebel camp's majority, as per reports.

This has opened a new front in the legal battle between the Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde factions of the regional party.

Supreme Court had earlier refused to intervene in the floor test ordered by governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari which brought Eknath Shinde to power as Maharashtra CM, replacing Thackeray.

Notably, SC has also given July 11 as the date of hearing in the matter pertaining to the disqualification proceedings of rebel Shiv Sena legislators.

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At present, 40 out of 55 Shiv Sena MLAs are backing the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government.