Eknath Shinde's first reaction: 'Balasaheb has given us teachings of Hindutva...'

Maharashtra Political Crisis: In his first reaction after going incommunicado since late last night, Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde has invoked Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray to remind the party's Hindutva pitch. Shinde tweeted that he will never forget the ideas of Balasaheb for power and never will.

"We are Balasaheb Thackeray’s hardcore Shiv Sainiks. Balasaheb has given us the teachings of Hindutva. We shall never forget the ideas of Balasaheb and the teachings of Anand Dighe for power and never will," he tweeted in Marathi.

The late Dighe, a Shiv Sena stalwart from Thane, was the political mentor of Shinde.

Eknath Shinde has turned rebel along with some MLAs. They are currently camping at a hotel in Surat.

Shinde is considered to be a powerful leader in the Sena camp. He has influence in the Thane region and is often credited for Sena's expansion in other parts of Maharashtra. 

It is believed that he was upset with the Sena leadership's functioning. He was also sidelined by the party leadership for some time and not included in the MLC election exercise.

The development came in the backdrop of the Shiv-led alliance suffering an embarrassing defeat in the MLC polls that saw the BJP gaining one additional seat as a result of cross-voting in the ruling alliance. 

Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena has removed Eknath Shinde from the Legislative party group. He has been replaced by Sewri MLA Ajay Chaudhary, news agency ANI reported.