Maharashtra political crisis: We have not left Shiv Sena, Eknath Shinde remains our leader, says rebel Sena MLA Deepak Kesarkar

Dissident Shiv Sena legislator Deepak Kesarkar on Saturday said the rebel group enjoys two thirds majority in the legislature party and has appointed senior Maharashtra minister Eknath Shinde as their leaderThe rebel MLA further demanded recognition for their faction and warned of going to court if it is not done and denied the role of the BJP behind their revoltIn a virtual press conference from Guwahati where Shinde and other rebel MLAs are camping Kesarkar said they have not left the Sena but named their group as Shiv Sena BalasahebWe are still in Shiv Sena there is a misunderstanding that we have left the party Weve just separated our faction We have a twothirds majority to follow the path we wanted Our new leader has been chosen by the majority They didnt have more than 1617 MLAs Kesarkar saidJust 16 or 17 people can not replace the group leader of 55 MLAs and the rebel Sena faction will challenge in the court the order of Maharashtra Assemblys Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal replacing Shinde as Shiv Sena group leader he saidThe MLAs had told party president Uddhav Thackeray that we should stay with the party with whom we had contested electionWhen so many people voice the same opinion there must be some substance in it he said referring to the Shinde groups initial demand that the Sena should revive its alliance with the BJP and sever ties with Congress and NCPTo a question whether Shinde group will withdraw the support to the Uddhav Thackeray government in Maharashtra Kesarkar said Why should we withdraw the support We are the Shiv Sena We have not hijacked the party the NCP and Congress have hijacked itHe also said the Shinde group will prove its majority in the Assembly but we will not merge with any other political partyWe have decided to name our group Shiv Sena Balasaheb because we believe in his Bal Thackerays ideology he addedAsked about Uddhav Thackerayled factions objection to the use of party founder Bal Thackerays name by other groups Kesarkar said We will consider itTo a question when the rebel MLAs would return to Mumbai he said they will come back at an appropriate timeAt present there is pressure we dont feel that it is safe to return Kesarkar said referring to incidents of attacks on offices and residences of rebel MLAs in MaharashtraThe rebel MLA refuted the speculations of the new group merging with any party and said that their faction will be given different recognitionTheres no need to merge our faction will be given different recognition and we arent merging with any other party he saidKesarkar denied speaking against Uddhav Thackeray and said that they respect the Chief MinisterRecognition should be given to our faction if it isnt given we will go to court and prove our existence and numbers We have numbers but we respect CM Uddhav Thackeray we wont speak against him We must follow the path on which we fought Assembly elections he saidNo party is paying for our expenses of hotel accommodation our leader Eknath Shinde called us and we came and stayed here Guwahati hotel will pay the expenses BJP isnt behind all of this the lawmaker addedThe majority of Shiv Sena MLAs have shifted their loyalty to Eknath Shinde and are camping in Guwahati plunging the Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA government led by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray who heads the Sena into a crisisWith inputs from ANI and PTI