Maharashtra Crisis: 9th Minister Joins Rebels, Team Thackeray Pushes For Action: 10 Points

Mumbai: Further deepening the crisis for Maharashtra government, another minister, Uday Samant today joined the rebel camp led by his cabinet colleague Eknath Shinde. The Shiv Sena has filed appeals for disqualification of Mr Shinde and 15 other rebel MLAs.

Here are the top 10 updates on this big story:

The Shiv Sena said it will fight to get 16 of the rebel MLAs disqualified and make them "face the electorate". According to sources, ministers Eknath Shinde, Gulabrao Patil, Dada Bhuse are likely to lose their portfolios. Abdul Sattar and Shamburaje Desai - both Minister of State - are also likely to face action.
Maharashtra Minister Uday Samant today landed in Assam's Guwahati and joined the rebel MLAs. He is the ninth minister to join the Eknath Shinde camp.
Eknath Shinde today filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against the Shiv Sena's move to disqualify him and 15 other rebel MLAs. The Shinde camp has also challenged appointment of Ajay Choudhari as the Shiv Sena Legislature Party leader and the rejection of no-confidence motion against Deputy Speaker Narahari Zirwal. The Supreme Court will hear both the petitions tomorrow.
The rebel faction currently has more than 40 Sena MLAs, their total number is 55.
Despite being reduced to a minority, Team Thackeray has dismissed Mr Shinde's assertion that he will stake claim for the party symbol.
Sounding a warning to the rebel MLAs, Aaditya Thackeray said, "Each MLA who has rebelled has two options. Join BJP or join Prahar. They are not deserving of Shiv Sena or the bow and arrow symbol."
Differences have also appeared within the Eknath Shinde camp over plans to merge the group with the BJP. Mr Shinde also has the option of merging with Prahar Janshakti Party, whose chief, Maharashtra Minister Bachchu Kadu, is already camping with the rebels in Guwahati.
On the second day in a row, Shiv Sena cadres staged protests against the dissidents in various parts of the state, including Mumbai and Pune.
Sharad Pawar met leaders of Nationalist Congress Party, Congress ministers Balasaheb Thorat and Ashok Chavan, and Shiv Sena's Anil Parab and Anil Desai to discuss the political fallout of the six-day-old rebellion.
The rebels have said that they are still with the Shiv Sena and claim that they have a two-thirds majority. Rebel MLA Deepak Kesarkar further demanded recognition of their group 'Shiv Sena Balasaheb' and warned of going to court if it is not done and denied the role of the BJP behind their revolt.