Ahead of the Supreme Court judgment that will decide the fate of the Eknath Shinde-led government in Maharashtra, Opposition bloc MVA on Wednesday said the verdict will determine if democracy "exists" in the country and judiciary "functions" independently. On the other side, Shiv Sena spokesperson and party MLA Sanjay Shirsat asserted that there is no nervousness in their camp as they had factored in all aspects before revolting (last year).

“We have seen the results…the Election Commission gave us the party name and symbol and we won the first stage,” Shirsat said.

The judgment will decide the fate of the Sena-BJP government led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who is one of the 16 MLAs whose disqualification plea is before the Supreme Court.

Last June, Shinde and 39 MLAs rebelled against the undivided Shiv Sena leadership resulting in the party’s split and collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, which also comprised the NCP and Congress, led by Uddhav Thackeray. Shinde later tied up with the BJP to return as the CM.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said the judgment will be crucial for Indian democracy and the Constitution. He hoped that the judgment would strengthen the Constitution.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said that the impending verdict will determine the future of the country.

“The Supreme Court judgment will decide whether there is democracy in the country, legislatures are functioning as per the Constitution, judiciary is functioning independently. We are hopeful that we will get justice. I am confident that the Supreme Court of the country is independent,” Raut told reporters.

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