Maharashtra Govt Formation HIGHLIGHTS: Uddhav Slams BJP; Says Amit Shah Agreed On 50-50 Deal

Amid the ongoing tussle between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena to form government in the state, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday met Governor BS Koshyari at Raj Bhawan in Mumbai and submitted his resignation. The term of the existing assembly in the state is due to end on November 9. Rejecting Shiv Sena's claim of 50-50 government sharing promise made by the BJP, Fadnavis said that there was no promise made for a 2.5 years rotational CM post.

08/11/2019 21:05:39

Appearing to take the final stage of no return, the Sena chief said: Giving the state a Sena CM was a promise I made to my father (the late Bal Thackeray). We don't need the support of the BJP, Shah or Fadnavis for achieving this.

08/11/2019 20:14:59

We had never closed the doors for discussion, they (BJP) lied to us so we did not talk to them. We have not yet held talks with the NCP: Uddhav Thackeray during press conference

08/11/2019 18:26:42

Speaking about BJP's commitment of equal share in power, Thackeray said, Amit Shah and Fadnavis agreed on equal power and responsibility earlier but are not backing off.

08/11/2019 18:24:41

Uddhav Thackeray held a press conference on Friday, soon after Devendra Fadnavis resigned as Maharashtra CM. Responding to Fadnavis' claim of no agreement on 2.5 years CM for Sena, he said that it is for the first time somebody has called Thackrey family a lair.

08/11/2019 18:12:07

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray will address a press conference in Mumbai at around 6pm. Thackeray is expected to respond to the resignation of Devendra Fadnavis as CM and might also speak on the allegations made by him against the Sena.

08/11/2019 18:11:08

Shiv Sena sought police protection in Mumbai for its newly-elected MLAs, who will be shifted to a resort, till November 15, apparently fearing defection from its legislative rank.

08/11/2019 18:05:16

Best wishes if you think you can form govt: Raut to Fadnavis




Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Friday said he extends his best wishes to Devendra Fadnavis if the BJP leader was confident of forming the government in Maharashtra.




Chief Minister Fadnavis handed over his resignation to the governor on Friday afternoon after the deadlock over government formation in the state could not be broken even a fortnight after the Assembly poll results were out.




Talking to the media after Fadnavis's press conference where the BJP leader squarely blamed the Sena for failure to reach a new power-sharing agreement, Raut said Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray will make his party's position clear soon.




If the chief minister says there will be a BJP government again under his leadership, my best wishes to them, Raut said.




PTI

08/11/2019 18:01:25

Fadnavis also deprecated the fact that despite being in government at the Centre and state for the last more than five years, some leaders of the Sena have been continuously targeting BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, using foul and demeaning language.

08/11/2019 18:01:04

There was no talk anytime before me over sharing the post of CM for two-and-half years each between the two parties... (Union Minister) Nitin Gadkari and I spoke with BJP President Amit Shah who also said there was no such commitment on this: Fadnavis told the media after submitting his resignation as CM to Governor B.S. Koshyari.

08/11/2019 18:00:26

Virtually showing the door to the Shiv Sena, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday declared that there was never any talk of sharing the post of the CM between it and his Bharatiya Janata Party.

Background

Mumbai: Amid the ongoing tussle between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena to form government in the state, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday met Governor BS Koshyari at Raj Bhawan in Mumbai and submitted his resignation. The term of the existing assembly in the state is due to end on November 9. Soon after submitting his resignation, Fadnavis held a press conference to announce the same and thanked the people of Maharashtra for their support to NDA government in the state. "I have tendered my resignation to the Governor and he has accepted it," Fadnavis told reporters.

Rejecting Shiv Sena's claim of 50-50 government sharing promise made by the BJP, Fadnavis said that there was no promise made for a 2.5 years rotational CM post. "We have also clarified the same with BJP chief Amit Shah Ji and even he has rejected the claims made by Uddhav Thackeray and his party."

"We have not stopped dicussion with Shiv Sena, its them who are not ready for any mutual discussion," Fadnavis said adding that all options are open for the BJP. Shiv Sena, however, still remains firm over its demand for sharing the chief minister's post and has asked the BJP not to misuse the provision of 'caretaker' government to remain in power in Maharashtra.

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Fadnavis also said that BJP won less than expected seats in the assembly but added that the people supported their alliance by giving them clear mandate. He said that Uddhav Thackeray went back on his words and shocked the people with his 2.5 years CM demand.

Fadnavis also pointed out that there were discussions with Shiv Sena over the rotational CM demand but the talks had broken down and there were no agreements over the issue. Fadnavis also claimed that Shiv Sena stopped all discussion with the BJP and instead held talks with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress.

Further speaking, Fadnavis also expressed grief over regular attacks on BJP and PM Narendra Modi by Shiv Sena leaders and said that Uddhav Thackeray did not even respond to my calls.

"Unfortunately, day when results came, Uddhav ji said all options open for government formation. That was shocking for us as people had given mandate for alliance and in such circumstances it was a big question for us that why he said all options are open for him," he said.

WATCH | BJP did not promise 50-50 formula to Shiv Sena, says Nitin Gadkari

Earlier in the day, Shiv Sena sought police protection in Mumbai for its newly-elected MLAs, who will be shifted to a resort, till November 15, apparently fearing defection from its legislative rank.  Sena secretary Milind Narvekar has written a letter to the Mumbai police commissioner, seeking necessary protection for the party's MLAs till November 15.

The Congress-NCP have already announced that they are ready to sit in the Opposition and urged the BJP-Sena to take steps to form the government and prevent a Constitutional crisis in the state as the prospect of President's Rule loomed ahead after Saturday.

Ranked amongst the most politically stable states in the country, in its entire 59-year history, Maharashtra has witnessed spells of President's Rule only twice - for 112 days in 1980 (Feb-June) and later for 33 days in September-October 2014.