The political drama in Maharashtra refuses to cease. Even as BJP- Shiv Sena alliance seemed a clear winner in the assembly elections in the state, the tussle for seat sharing has brought the entire discussion to a standstill.
All the parties, including opposition NCP and Congress are now back in the fray with all kinds of discussions and possible liaisons under way.
After Mumbai, the action has now moved to Delhi with both BJP and the NCP in town. BJP CM nominee Devendra Fadnavis met Home Minister Amit Shah in the morning and NCP leader Sharad Pawar is likely to hold discussions with Congress president Sonia Gandhi at 5 pm today.
Government formation has been stalled for 11 days because of a power tussle between the BJP and its ally Shiv Sena, who won a clear majority together.
While the leaders are in Delhi, Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut is expected to meet Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and urge him to invite the single largest party to form government.
Speaking to reporters, Sanjay Raut stated, “there are no backdoor discussions. There is a deadlock and we are not responsible for it. BJP being the single largest party should claim to form government first… but if they fail, we can stake claim.”
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The BJP with 105 seats and the Sena with 56 seats has a clear majority in the 288-member Maharashtra assembly. But the BJP’s hopes for a continuous transition into a second straight term with Devendra Fadnavis as the CM are in a dicey situation because of the Sena demand for equal power-share under what it calls was a “50:50 formula” agreed upon with Amit Shah earlier this year.
According to the Sena, the plan was for chief ministers from each party sharing the five-year term equally.
The BJP has firmly rejected the idea and insists Fadnavis will be chief minister for a full term.
The Sena is confident of the support of 170 MLAs to install its chief minister. There are also reports that the party has reached out to NCP. The NCP won 54 seats and the Congress 44 in the state elections.
The current term of Maharashtra government ends on November 8. The BJP’s Sudhir Mungantiwar had earlier said the state might head for President’s rule if there is no government by then.
Pawar’s meeting with the Sonia Gandhi in Delhi comes after his meeting with Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut and a phone call from Uddhav Thackeray.
None of the parties have come forward and divulged the details of the conversations.
With the ref of my earlier tweet,I reiterate Congress should not get into #ShivSenaBJP drama.
Its fake.Its their temporary fight to grab more power share.
They will be together again & wl keep abusing us.
How can some Congress leaders think of supporting ShivSena?
Have they lost? https://t.co/Ym6ulQTWuk— Sanjay Nirupam (@sanjaynirupam) November 1, 2019
However, former Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam, who did not campaign for the party in the assembly elections, has attacked party leaders for extending support to the Shiv Sena in government formation.
“It’s fake. It’s their temporary fight to grab more power share. They will be together again and will keep abusing us. How can some Congress leaders think of supporting Shiv Sena? Have they lost [it]?” he tweeted.