NCP, Sena, Cong shift MLAs to hotels amid poaching threat

Amid the high political drama in Maharashtra and threat of 'poaching' of MLAs, the Nationalist Congress Party, the Congress and the Shiv Sena have shifted their legislators to different luxury hotels in Mumbai.

IMAGE: Security outside J W Marriott in Andheri, Mumbai where Congress MLAs have been shifted. Photograph: PTI Photo

While the Congress moved its MLAs to the J W Marriott hotel in Juhu area, the NCP legislators were staying at The Renaissance hotel in Powai, sources said.

Besides, the Shiv Sena MLAs are staying at The Lalit hotel located near the international airport in Mumbai, they said.

Security has been tightened outside three luxury hotels, police said on Sunday.

Personnel from Sahar and Powai police stations along with the reserve police force were deployed outside the Lalit hotel, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone VIII) Manjunath Singhe said.

"Security has already been beefed up outside The Lalit and J W Marriott. We are checking the vehicles as well as persons entering these hotels," he said.

The private security guards of the three hotels were also not allowing anyone to enter the premises without proper checking of their vehicles and belongings, sources said.

The Congress legislators were earlier supposed to leave for Jaipur, but later decided to stay in Mumbai in view of the fast-paced political developments here, they added.

IMAGE: Shiv Sena MLAs are staying at Lalit Hotel in Andheri, Mumbai. Photograph: PTI Photo

Fadnavis on Saturday returned as the state's chief minister propped up by NCP's Ajit Pawar, who was made his deputy, just hours after the new alliance of Shiv Sena, the NCP and the Congress reached a consensus that Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray will be their chief ministerial candidate.

Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar were sworn in by Governor Koshyari at a hush hush ceremony, leading to lifting of the President's rule in the state.

The BJP and the Sena, which fought the last month's assembly polls in an alliance, secured a comfortable majority by winning 105 and 56 seats respectively.

The Sena, however, broke its three-decade-long ties with the BJP after the latter declined to share the chief minister's post.

The Congress and the NCP, both pre-poll allies, won 44 and 54 seats respectively.