What are the events that led to collapse of MVA Government in Maharashtra?

The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, comprising of Shiv Sena, Congress, and Nationalist Congress Party in Maharashtra, have collapsed, putting an end to nearly a 10-day-long political thrilling crisis in the state. Uddhav Thackeray, who headed the MVA coalition, stepped down as Chief Minister on June 29 after the Supreme Court refused to stay the floor test ordered by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.

With 39 out of 55 Sena MLAs being part of Mr. Shinde's camp, it was apparent that the government had lost its majority. The leader of the rebel group Eknath Shinde has now been sworn in as Maharashtra Chief Minister. The decision shocked the political corridors in the state as BJP Leader Devendra Fadnavis was expected to get the CM position. Devendra Fadnvasi is now sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

The latest development in the political arena of the state happened when Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray removed Mr. Shinde from the post of 'Shiv Sena leader' Friday night. What events led to the eventual collapse of the much-loved Uddhav Thackeray-led coalition Government in the state. What events transpired in the 10 days leading to the collapse of the government?

Speculations started brewing when on June 20, right after the legislative council elections, senior Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde disappeared and was not reachable. Soon after, reports surfaced stating that Shinde, along with other 11 MLAs, had arrived in Surat, Gujarat. The very next day, the MLAs were absent in Uddhav Thackeray's meeting. This forced the Shiv Sena leaders to remove rebel leader Eknath Shinde from the post of the Shiv Sena party whip. Shiv Sena, to prevent losing more MLAs, housed the rest of their MLAs in several different hotels in Mumbai.

Eknath Shinde asked Thackeray to break the 'unnatural' MVA alliance referring to the ideologically contrast in the parties. He further urged Thackeray to form the government with BJP. Shinde claimed he has the support of over 40 MLAs. Shinde required the support of over 37 MLAs to prevent being disqualified under the Anti-defection laws in India. On June 22, Shinde, along with 40 MLAs, moves to Guwahati, Assam. Uddhav Thackeray, on the same day, made an announcement that he is willing to step down as the chief minister of the state and the leader of the MVA alliance. Later, Thackeray leaves the official residence of the CM, Varsha, and moves to his private residence. On June 23, Shinde and 37 MLAs declared Shinde, the leader of the Shiv Sena legislature party.

On June 24, Shiv Sena filed a petition against the rebel MLAs and further demanded that Deputy speaker Narahari Zirwal of the State Assembly to disqualify 16 MLAs of the Eknath Shinde group. Zirwal met with Shiv Sena leaders, and later met with the Advocate-General of Maharashtra for a legal opinion. Two independent MLAs supporting BJP brought in a no-confidence motion against the Deputy Speaker. The no-confidence vote signed by 34 MLAs was rejected by Zirwal since the petition was sent through an anonymous email and not submitted by an MLA himself. On the very same day, Eknath Shinde, Home minister Amit Shah, and former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis met in Vadodara, reportedly to plan a merger or coalition to topple the MVA government.

On June 26, Shinde moved the Supreme Court of India to dispute the rejection of the no-confidence vote against the Zirwal. The next day, the Supreme Court of India kept the next hearing on July 11 and directed the Deputy speaker Zirwal to file a detailed affidavit about the no-confidence motion against him. On June 29, Uddhav Thackeray resigned as Maharashtra chief minister, minutes after Supreme Court refused to stay Governor B S Koshyari's direction to his government to take a floor test in the Assembly.

However, this is not the end of the political drama playing out in the state. With Eknath Shinde as CM and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavsis as Deputy CM, they are bound to undo all the initiatives the Uddhav Thackeray-led coalition started. Within hours of being sworn in as Deputy CM Fadnavis has already overturned the decision of former CM Uddhav Thackeray to shift the metro 3 car shed out of the Aarey milk colony and to designate it as a protected forest.