'Madhya Pradesh virus' won't enter Maha, MVA govt safe: Raut

Mumbai: Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Wednesday expressed confidence that his party-led Maharashtra government is safe and said the “Madhya Pradesh virus” will not enter the western state.

The Shiv Sena is leading a coalition government in Maharashtra with the NCP and the Congress.

The Kamal Nath government in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh is on the brink of collapse as 22 Congress MLAs in the state resigned on Tuesday after former Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia quit the party.

Amid the political developments in Madhya Pradesh, Raut said there was no cause of worry for the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

“The Madhya Pradesh virus will not enter Maharashtra. Maharashtra’s power is different. One operation flopped 100 days ago. The Maha Vikas Aghadi did a bypass surgery and saved Maharashtra,” the Sena leader said in a tweet in Marathi.

After the state Assembly polls in October last year, the Shiv Sena-led MVA government came to power on November 28 after it parted ways with the BJP over the issue of sharing the chief ministerial post.

Before that, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis and NCP’s Ajit Pawar took oath as chief minister and deputy chief minister, respectively, in a hush hush ceremony on November 23. But, the government did not last more than 80 hours.

In the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly, the MVA government enjoys support of over 165 MLAs.