Escape from Sena rebels: The two first-time MLAs who made their way back to Uddhav

While most of their colleagues seem to be throwing their weight behind Eknath Shinde, Nitin Deshmukh and Kailas Patil have pledged their allegiance to the CM.

Shiv Sena MLAs Kailas Patil (left) and Nitin Deshmukh (centre) with MP Sanjay Raut addressing a press meet. (Express photo by Narendra Vaskar)

Even as the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition teeters on the brink of collapse because of a majority of Shiv Sena MLAs rallying behind rebel leader Eknath Shinde, two of the beleaguered party’s first-time legislators returned from the rebel camp on Wednesday and claimed that they were with Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray. Both Balapur MLA Nitin Deshmukh and Osmanabad legislator Kailas Patil said upon their return to the state that the rebel camp had attempted to forcibly move them to Surat in Gujarat and keep them there.

Upon returning to Nagpur, Deshmukh claimed he was forcefully admitted to a hospital in Surat and administered injections against his will when he wanted to return to Maharashtra.

Don't Miss | Maharashtra political crisis: The 15 MLAs standing tall beside CM Uddhav Thackeray

“(After reaching Surat on Tuesday night), I came out of the hotel early in the morning at 3 am and tried to escape. After coming to the main road, I was searching for a vehicle to get a lift. Meanwhile, a group of about 100 policemen came to the spot and took me to the New Civil hospital where I was admitted. Later, they spread a message that I had suffered a heart attack. I was sedated in the hospital so that I could not escape,” the MLA told reporters.

Story continues below this ad

His friend Dilip Bavche told The Indian Express that he flew with Deshmukh and the other MLAs to Guwahati on Wednesday morning. Bavche had come to Surat with another friend the day before to meet Deshmukh after the MLA’s wife filed a missing person report with the police. Bavche claimed that Deshmukh spoke to “Uddhav Thackeray and shared all the details”.

Deshmukh told The Indian Express on Friday, “I have always been a staunch Shiv Sainik of Balasaheb. Whatever I am today is because of the party. Coming from a small village, I went on to become MLA, people voted for me, and made me MLA just because of the Sena. How can I betray the party because of which I am here today? I will work for the party selflessly till I die.”

In Premium Now | MVA crisis | Behind Surat to Guwahati flight: fear of rebels returning to Shiv Sena next door

Meanwhile, Patil on returning to Thackerays’ residence “Matoshree” in Mumbai on Wednesday alleged that Shinde’s associates tried to hoodwink him and tried to drive him to Surat in a car. But, the MLA claimed he caught their bluff and escaped. Patil claimed he got out of the car near the Gujarat-Maharashtra border and walked back towards Mumbai for a few kilometres in the night. He reportedly managed to get a lift from a man on a two-wheeler and later in a truck.

The legislator on Friday told The Indian Express that he had pledged his allegiance to Thackeray and urged his party colleagues who have rebelled to return. “All of them should return so that there is no damage to the party,” he said.

Story continues below this ad

Shiv Sena MLA Eknath Shinde with 42 other MLAs at a hotel, in Guwahati on Thursday. (Photo: PTI)

Here is a look at the political trajectory of the two men who went one way when most of their colleagues went the other and decided to stick with the Thackerays.

Nitin Deshmukh

Deshmukh hails from the village of Chinni in Akola and started his political career by becoming a Sarpanch of the village. He went on to become the deputy chairperson of the Pantur Panchayat Samiti and was thrice a member of the Akola Zilla Parishad.

Also Read | Drama in Surat: Chartered plane and 2 MLAs who ‘tried to escape’

In 2009, Deshmukh contested as an independent candidate from Balapur but lost. He was later appointed the party’s Akola district president and won the Assembly polls in 2019, this time on a Sena ticket. He defeated Haribhau Pundkar of the Bahujan Alliance. Deshmukh was considered to be a supporter of the Sena’s south Mumbai MP Arvind Sawant but recently was said to have been getting closer to Eknath Shinde.

Kailas Patil

Story continues below this ad

The first-time legislator is from Sarola village in Osmanabad. He was was earlier with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and served as the village sarpanch for 10 years. But he switched to the Sena in 2017 after not being fielded in the Zila Parishad elections. He defeated his former party’s candidate to get elected as a member of the Parishad. The same year, he was appointed the Sena’s district president and two years later he won the Assembly elections from the Osmanabad constituency.

According to records, Patil has no criminal record and has cited agriculture as his profession in his poll affidavit.