In the wake of the Shiv Sena-led Maharashtra government facing a crisis, party MP Krupal Tumane on Thursday denied reports of joining the rebel faction led by Eknath Shinde, and asserted that he was with the Sena. Tumane, the Lok Sabha member from Ramtek in Nagpur, said "patience is the need of the hour".

Maharashtra cabinet minister Shinde, who is camping in Assam's Guwahati city with rebel Sena MLAs, on Wednesday claimed the claimed the support of 46 legislators, including some Independents. On Thursday morning, three more Shiv Sena MLAs left for Guwahati from Mumbai, according to an associate of Shinde. The Shiv Sena currently has 55 MLAs in the Assembly.