The cost of flying MLAs amid Maharashtra political crisis | EXCLUSIVE
India Today
More than 30 MLAs from Maharashtra have been flown from their home state to Assam over the past two days using commercial jets. How much did the 'high-flying operation' cost? Here are the details.
One of the key ingredients of a grand political coup such as the one on display in Maharashtra is speed. Discreet group movement of elected leaders, who are easily recognisable faces, requires a lot of secrecy and planning.
By design, private jets have become the ultimate choice for such high-stakes political operations that involve quick and luxurious transportation across states.
More than 30 legislators from the ruling alliance in Maharashtra have been flown from their home state Maharashtra to Assam over the past two days using commercial jets. So how much should such a high-flying operation from Mumbai to Guwahati via Surat cost?
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At around 2:40 am on Wednesday, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 took off from Surat airport for a 3 hour 41 minute journey to Guwahati with Maharashtra Minister Eknath Shinde and a group of his rebel Shiv Sena MLAs.
The 189-seater jet was hired from commercial aircraft carrier SpiceJet exclusively for this purpose. A typical MAX 8 is about 129 feet and 6 inches long and 117 ft 10 inches wide. The airline operates 13 such models which have a maximum range of 6,500 km.
