Mumbai: The BJP should approach the Shiv Sena only if it agrees to share the chief minister’s post with the junior ally in Maharashtra, senior Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said Friday.
Talking to reporters here, Sanjay Raut said the BJP should not misuse the provision of ‘caretaker’ government and remain in power in Maharashtra, where there is an impasse over the next dispensation.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis should resign as the term of the existing Assembly is ending November 9, the Sena spokesman said.
To a question on Union Minister and BJP leader Nitin Gadkari’s trip to this city and the possibility of him visiting ‘Matoshree’ (the residence of Thackerays) to break the logam over government formation, Raut said the BJP should approach the Sena only if it is willing to share the CM post.
“Gadkari is a resident of Mumbai. There is no news that he is coming. If he does come he will go to his house. Has he told you that he is bringing a letter giving the Sena 2.5 years of chief ministership?” Raut asked.
Meanwhile in another development, the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) blamed the BJP of pushing the state towards President’s rule and wanting to run it through Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the NDA constituent’s chief Amit Shah.
NCP chief spokesperson Nawab Malik also said the people of Maharashtra will not tolerate this ‘insult’ of Maharashtra. He added that history shows Maharashtra doesn’t bow before the ‘throne of Delhi’.
“The BJP wants to run Maharashtra through Modi and Shah from Delhi by pushing the state towards President’s rule. People will not tolerate this insult of Maharashtra. It has been a history that Maharashtra doesn’t bow before the throne of Delhi. Jai Maharashtra,” Malik tweeted.
The NCP and the Congress won 54 and 44 seats, respectively, in the election to the 288-member Assembly where the majority mark is 145.
Agencies