The Shiv Sena party is expected to meet the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on the 11th of November to discuss the Maharashtra Government formation.
After an endless fight between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena party about the 50:50 power sharing formula, the decision regarding the State Government formation is unclear.
The major argument between the two allies was over the Chief Minister’s post. While the BJP wants Devendra Fadnavis to become the Chief Minister, the Shiv Sena wants its candidate, Aaditya Thackeray, to be appointed Chief Minister.
On the 10th of November, Bhagat Singh Koshyari, the Governor of Maharashtra, invited the Shiv Sena party for a meeting and asked the Party to stake its claim to form the Government. The meeting took place after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) met the Governor of Maharashtra and refused to form the Government as a single party.
Chandrakant Patil, the President of the BJP in Maharashtra, said, “The mandate of the people was for the Shiv Sena-BJP combine. We cannot form the government on our own.”
On the 21st of October, the alliance of the BJP and the Shiv Sena contested the Maharashtra Assembly elections and marked a majority of 146 seats. The BJP secured 105 seats, whereas the Shiv Sena bagged 56 seats in the elections.
However, now, neither party has the majority number of seats to form the State Government individually. Both the parties need to ally with an opposition party to form the Government in Maharashtra.
Speaking about the Shiv Sena and the NCP meeting, the NCP asked the Shiv Sena to quit the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) if the Party wants to ally with the NCP. The BJP and the Shiv Sena have been allies for 25 years and are also part of the NDA.
On the 10th of November at midnight, after meeting the Governor of Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena called for a meeting with the Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) of the Party. During the meeting, the Party discussed the next step and discussed about the meeting with the Governor.
Uddhav Thackeray, the President of the Shiv Sena, is expected to reach out to Sharad Pawar, the President of the NCP and discuss the alliance.
However, Nawab Malik, a leader of the NCP, said, “If the Sena wants the support of the Congress and NCP they must first announce that they are ending ties with the BJP and they are out of the NDA. Their ministers need to quit the council of ministers.”
The Shiv Sena also hinted it may ally with the INC and the NCP. In an editorial published in their mouthpiece Saamana, the Shiv Sena wrote, “With 54 MLAs of NCP, 44 Cong MLAs and few independents, we can reach majority. The Sena can present its own Chief Minister and for that, three parties with independent ideology should form policies which are acceptable to all.”
The meeting is scheduled to be held on the 11th of November.
Stay tuned for further updates.
