Mumbai: Former Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam, who was once a Shiv Sena MP and editor of the mouthpiece, Saamana, cautioned his party from supporting Shiv Sena to form the government. He said that it would be detrimental for the party in the long term.
Earlier in the day, former Mumbai Congress chief Milind Deora had urged the Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to invite the Nationalist Congress Party-Congress to form the government.
On Sunday, Mr Deora tweeted, “Maharashtra’s Governor should invite NCP-Congress — the second largest alliance — to form the government now that BJP-Shiv Sena have refused to do so [sic].”
Following Mr Deora’s tweet, Mr Nirupam said, “In the current political arithmetic in Maharashtra, its just impossible for Congress-NCP to form any govt. For that we need Shiv Sena. And we must not think of sharing power with Sena under any circumstances. That will be a disastrous move for the party [sic].”
Since the result of Maharashtra Assembly has resulted into a tussle over chief minister’s post between the Sena and the BJP, decision over government formation is still pending.
Earlier this month Mr Nirupam had warned the party leadership should not get Sena-BJP drama. Despite his warning, Congress leaders did not stop asking the party high command to support the Sena in order to keep the BJP out of power.
Last week, the Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Husain Dalwai said that his party would not allow BJP to form government in Maharashtra.
Mr Dalwai also wrote to interim Congress president Sonia Gandhi that the party has a chance to form the government in Maharashtra with alliance of Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party.
