Disgruntled Shiv Sena MLA Deepak Kesarkar on Saturday said the rebel faction has a two-thirds majority in the legislature party and will prove its numbers in the House but will not merge with any other political party.

Rebel MLAs led by Eknath Shinde are camping in Guwahati city of Assam, whose rebellion is threatening the Maha Vikas Aghadi government of Maharashtra led by Uddhav Thackeray. In an online press conference from Guwahati, Kesarkar said that he has not left Shiv Sena, but named his group Shiv Sena (Balasaheb) and has chosen Shinde as his leader. He said that only 16 or 17 people cannot change the leader of the group of 55 MLAs and the rebel Shiv Sena faction will challenge in the court the order of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Deputy Speaker Narhari Jirwal to replace Shinde as the leader of the Shiv Sena group.

Kesarkar said, the MLAs told party president Uddhav Thackeray that we should stick with the party with which we fought elections.. When so many people express the same opinion, there should be something concrete in it. He was referring to the Shinde group's initial demand that the Shiv Sena should resume its alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and break ties with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Asked whether the Shinde group would withdraw support to the Uddhav Thackeray government in Maharashtra, Kesarkar said, "Why should we withdraw support? We are Shiv Sena. We have not hijacked the party, NCP and Congress have hijacked it.

Shinde group will prove majority in the assembly but we will not merge with any other political party. "We have decided to name our group Shiv Sena (Balasaheb) as we believe in his (Bal Thackeray's) ideology," Kesarkar said. Asked about the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction's objection to the use of party founder Bal Thackeray's name by other groups, Kesarkar said, "We will look into it." When asked when the rebel MLAs would return to Mumbai, he said they would come back at an appropriate time. Referring to the incidents of attacks on the offices and residences of rebel MLAs in Maharashtra, Kesarkar said, "At present there is pressure, we don't think it is safe to come back."

Kesarkar said that the rebel group has nothing against Uddhav Thackeray. Kesarkar said, we want to save the party. We are not even asking for his (Uddhav Thackeray's) resignation. Commenting on Maharashtra Assembly Deputy Speaker Narhari Jirwal's rejection of a letter signed by the rebel camp (referring to recognition of the rebel group and seeking to nominate Shinde as the leader of the Shiv Sena legislature party), Kesarkar said, How can we reject our letter but those demanding our disqualification consider the letter received after a long time. If needed, we will also approach the governor or go to court to seek justice.

Kesarkar reiterated that the rebel group is not breaking away from the Shiv Sena. "We are asking him (Uddhav) to join hands with the BJP. I have told Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray many times that we should work with the BJP. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a special attachment to Shiv Sena. Kesarkar said that the rebel MLAs are meeting their own expenses in the hotel where they are staying in Guwahati and the BJP has nothing to do with it.

Kesarkar said that Shiv Sena's Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut is a fiery speaker. Referring to the protests by Shiv Sena workers in parts of Maharashtra against the rebel MLAs, he said, "His (Rout) speeches catch fire. However, we will not comment on Raut as he is not a member of the Maharashtra Legislature, he said.