HOURS after the BJP declined to form Government in Maharashtra on Sunday, Governor Bhagat Singh Khoshyari on Sunday night asked the Shiv Sena to “indicate the willingness and ability” of the party to stake claim, mounting suspense over formation of Government.

 

The Sena, which is the second largest party in the 288-member House with 56 MLAs after the BJP (105), has time till 7:30 PM on November 11, to stake the claim, even as the NCP and the Congress refused to reveal their cards on supporting it.

 

Koshyari asked Sena legislative party leader Eknath Shinde to “indicate willingness and ability” of the party to form Government in Maharashtra, a Raj Bhawan statement said. After the Governor’s communication, newly-elected Sena MLAs, currently staying at a suburban hotel in Mumbai, went into a huddle. They later moved to Matoshree, the Bandra residence of the party chief Uddhav Thackeray, for another meeting.

 

The fast-paced developments seem to have increased the bargaining power of Opposition Congress and NCP, as the Sena, which has 56 MLAs, is far away from the halfway mark of 145. A day after the Governor asked the BJP to indicate its willingness and ability to form Government, caretaker Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis informed him about the party’s inability to do so due to lack of enough numbers. The role of the Congress (44 MLAS) and the NCP (54 MLAs) which have 98 members together, is crucial now.

THE Shiv Sena would have to break away from the BJP-led NDA before the NCP can think of lending support to the Uddhav Thackeray-led party for Government formation, the Opposition party’s chief spokesperson Nawab Malik said on Sunday.

 

 

The development came hours after the BJP, which emerged the largest party with 105 seats in the Assembly polls, stated that it would not stake claim to form the Government as it did not have the supporting numbers in the 288-member House.

 

“Shiv Sena needs to first exit from the NDA as it has one cabinet post (in the Narendra Modi Government). Unless it leaves the NDA, we will wait and watch the developments,” NCP chief spokesperson Nawab Malik told reporters on Sunday evening. South Mumbai Sena Lok Sabha MP Arvind Sawant is a Union Minister.

 

Speaking on the Government formation impasse, Mailk said, “We do not have enough numbers but we also do not want President’s rule in Maharashtra.” Malik said NCP MLAs will meet on November 12 after which a final decision on the party’s role in the current scenario will be taken.