BJP says it can't form govt, Shiv Sena gets a shot

Mumbai: Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Sunday asked the Shiv Sena if it wants to form the next government after the BJP informed him that it does not have numbers to form the government. The Shiv Sena has been given time till 7.30pm on Monday to express its “willingness and ability of his party to form the government in Maharashtra.”

The governor office has sent a letter to Shiv Sena’s legislative party leader Eknath Shinde. “The Sena will have to inform the governor about its stand by Monday 7.30 pm,” a Raj Bhavan official said.

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said that party chief Uddhav Thackeray will soon announce his decision and said, “The next CM will be from Shiv Sena. We are confident that we will prove our majority in the Assembly. If Uddhavji is saying that chief minister will be from Shiv Sena, it means that the Sena will have its chief minister at any cost.”

However, he refused to elaborate on which parties will support Sena-led government as it has only 56 MLAs in the 288-member House.

Earlier in the day, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis held the party’s core committee meeting twice at his official resident, Varsha, in South Mumbai. The BJP national general secretary and in-charge of Maharashtra, Bhupendra Yadav, also attended the meeting along with senior BJP leaders Sudhir Mungantiwar, Chand-rakant Patil and Girish Mahajan.

Sources said BJP chief Amit Shah had joined the second round of meeting from New Delhi via video conferencing.

Following the second round of meeting, a delegation led by Mr Fadnavis met governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari at Raj Bhavan. The governor on Saturday had invited the BJP, the single-largest party, to stake claim to form the new government. After meeting the governor, the state BJP president told the media outside Raj Bhavan, “The governor had invited the BJP yesterday (Saturday) to form the new government in Maharashtra. We have fought the election as a Mahayuti. The mandate was given to the Mahayuti. However, Shiv Sena is not interested to come with us. Therefore, we can’t form the government now. This has been conveyed to the governor.”

He also said, “If the Sena wants to form the government, with support from the Congress and NCP, by disrespecting the mandate, we extend well wishes to them.”

Mr Raut taunted the BJP over its inability to form the next government. “If they (BJP) did not form the government, how would it have its CM. They have repeatedly saying that CM will be from the BJP and they would form the government under the leadership of the BJP. Now, they have withdrawn their claim,” he said.