Aurangabad, Aug 29 (PTI) Maharashtra minister Sandipan Bhumre on Monday claimed "two-three" MLAs from the Uddhav Thackeray faction are expected to join the group of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

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Speaking to Marathi news channel 'ABP Majha', Bhumre, however, refused to divulge names of those expected to jump ship and join Shinde.

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"Two three MLAs from the Uddhav Thackeray faction are in touch with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. I won't mention names but can say they are from Konkan and Marathwada," the minister of employment guarantee said.

He also claimed almost all chiefs of district units of the Shiv Sena, barring one or two, were in touch with the Shinde faction and "would keep joining" from here on.

Queried on the tweet of Ambadas Danve, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council and part of the Thackeray camp, on empty chairs at a recent event in Paithan, Bhumre said it was a blood donation camp.

"It was a blood donation camp and I didn't appeal to people to come for the event. The opposition will see the overwhelming response of people when CM Eknath Shinde comes to Paithan after Ganpati festival," he claimed.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)