40 Maharashtra MLAs arrive in Guwahati

A group of 40 Maharshtra MLAs, led by dissident Shiv Sena dissident leader Eknath Shinde, arrived here on Wednesday morning and were taken to a luxury hotel on the outskirts of the city amid tight security.

The MLAs were received at the airport by BJP MPs Pallab Lochan Das and Sushanta Borgohain Shinde, who initially refused to talk to mediapersons waiting outside the airport, later said he has ''the support of 40 MLAs''. The MLAs arrived here from Surat and were taken to the hotel in three buses of the Assam State Transport Corporation, Speculations are rife that Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was likely to meet the MLAs during the day though the BJP party or his office are yet to confirm the meeting.

Tight security has been imposed with a huge posse of police personnel posted in and around the hotel.

The MLAs were taken to Surat from Mumbai on Tuesday and the decision to shift them to Guwahati was taken on security grounds, according to a BJP source.

The Shiv Sena-led government in Maharashtra is facing a crisis following the revolt by a section of its MLA led by Shinde.