Hours after Maharashtra BJP said that it is not staking claim to power as it does not have the numbers, the Governor of Maharashtra has asked the second largest party Shiv Sena to explore the possibility of forming the next government in the state. Eknath Shinde, as the leader of elected MLAs of Shiv Sena, has been asked to ‘indicate the willingness and ability of his party to form the government in Maharashtra.’ Shiv Sena has been asked to reply before 7.30 PM tomorrow.
Office of Maharashtra Governor: Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari today asked the leader of elected members of the second largest party, the Shiv Sena, Eknath Shinde to indicate the willingness and ability of his party to form the government in Maharashtra. pic.twitter.com/bdfKgHPj45
— ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2019
In another major development, NCP has offered support to Shiv Sena, but with the condition that it will sever its ties with BJP. NCP leader Nawab Malik said, “If Shiv Sena wants our support,they will have to declare that they have no relation with BJP, and they should pull out from National Democratic Alliance (NDA). All their ministers will have to resign from Union Cabinet.”
After governor’s letter to Shiv Sena, NCP chief Sharad Pawar called Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray to initiate talks on govt formation. It is expected that both parties will soon start the process of forming a government with the support of Congress.
Yesterday, Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari had sent a similar communication to incumbent CM Devendra Fadnavis of BJP, asking him to explore the possibility of forming the government and indicate the ability and willingness of BJP for the same. But today BJP met the governor and informed him that it is unable to form the governor, as it does not have the required numbers.
Soon after the announcement by BJP, flamboyant Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut had declared that Shiv Sena will have its Chief Minister in Maharashtra at ‘any cost’. Amidst the ongoing political tussle in Maharashtra, Raut said that Uddhav Thackeray has informed the party MLAs that the next Chief Minister of the state will be from Shiv Sena.
“Maharashtra will have Sena’s chief minister at any cost. Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday informed the party MLAs that Sena will have its chief minister,” he told reporters on Sunday. “How will BJP have its chief minister when they are not staking a claim to form government,” Raut said.
Earlier in the day, Congress MLAs who are currently residing in a resort in Jaipur had expressed their support to an alliance with Shiv Sena to keep BJP out of power in the state. The Congress MLAs had even written a letter to NCP urging to support the Shiv Sena- Congress-NCP alliance.
Shiv Sena had also hinted at the possibility of joining hands with the Congress to form the next government in Maharashtra. Speaking on the government formation in Maharashtra, Sanjay Raut had said, “If nobody is ready to form the government (in Maharashtra), then Shiv Sena can take the lead.”
