Shiv Sena Hints At Forming Government With NCP, Congress; Says 'Maharashtra Not Slave Of Delhi'

In the latest editorial by Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut in party’s mouth-piece Samna, it is said that the new Chief Minister of Maharashtra will be decided by Uddhav Thackeray.

Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray/ (PTI Photo/Shashank Parade)

New Delhi: Shiv Sena has hinted at forming government with Nationalist Congress Party and Congress, in Maharashtra, where it is pitched in a bitter tussle with its ally Bharatiya Janata Party over sharing of Chief Minister’s post. In the latest editorial by Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut in party’s mouth-piece Samna, it is said that the new Chief Minister of Maharashtra will be decided by Uddhav Thackeray. The party said that despite PM Modi’s appreciation, Devendra Fadnavis could not take oath of Chief Minister even after 15 days, because Amit Shah remained unbothered by the series of events in the state. It said that Shiv Sena which is the largest party in the alliance is not ready to negotiate with the waning CM. Senior leader of state Sharad Pawar will be in a key role and several MLAs have even met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. They even told Sonia Gandhi to leave the decision of Maharashtra with Maharashtra, it said. “Come what may, but there shouldn’t be a Chief Minister from BJP again, it is the unanimous voice of all parties in the state,” Raut stated in the editorial. The party also went on to compare PM Modi with Hitler and said that the party which has ruled by fear, is itself scared today. This is a reverse attack. Whe you cannot find a way even after inducing fear and cannot even gather support, then it should be admitted that Hitler is dead, and slavery is gone. Police and other investigative agencies should fearlessly do their work. The write-up says that Maharashtra politics should happen in Maharashtra and that the state is not a slave of New Delhi. The Shiv Sena has shifted most of its 56 MLAs to a hotel in suburban Malad, apparently to guard them against `poaching' attempts. As many as 35 of the 44 Congress MLAs are in Jaipur, in Congress-ruled Rajasthan. A party legislator told PTI seeking anonymity that more MLAs are expected to join them. Both Congress and its ally NCP said the governor should have taken the decision to ask the BJP to indicate its willingness to form government much earlier. The NCP also said that it would vote against the BJP if there is a floor test. Further, it can think of an "alternative" if the Shiv Sena too voted against the BJP, said its chief spokesperson, Nawab Malik. According to Anant Kalse, former principal secretary of the Maharashtra Legislature, till the governor does not summon the new (14th) Assembly, it will remain in "suspended animation". Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Saturday evening asked the BJP, the single largest party in the new Assembly, to "indicate the willingness and ability" to form government, creating hope that the 15-day- long political impasse in the state will end.