In political circles the tension is palpable and is continuously mounting. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader from Maharashtra, Sudhir Mungantiwar, has expressed confidence that the alliance government led by the BJP will come to power before November 10. Neither the BJP, nor the Shiv Sena is willing to bat an eyelid. Both are cautious in their approach, as BJP sees itself emerging as the biggest political party in the State by overtaking the Shiv Sena, while Shiv Sena on the other hand is wary about the fact that if they do not have their Chief Minister then some of their MLAs may jump over to the BJP camp. Also, if BJP agrees to the 50-50 power sharing formula as floated by the Shiv Sena it will set a very bad precedent and will affect them adversely in upcoming polls.
Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray last week, after the declaration of the results of the Assembly polls had demanded a written assurance from its ally BJP for implementing the “equal formula for sharing of power” before holding talks on staking claim to form the next alliance government in Maharashtra, to which BJP is unwilling to provide. The BJP’s tally in the Assembly polls, results of which were declared on October 24, came down to 105 from 122 in 2014, prompting the Shiv Sena, with 56 seats and greater bargaining power, to play hardball in power sharing talks.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut has stated that his party will talk to the BJP only on the Chief Minister’s post. Republican Party of India (RPI) Chief and Union Minister Ramdas Athwale which has bagged six seats and is close to Shiv Sena, has also apparently said that leader of Youth Shiv Sena Aditya Thackray “is too young to become a Chief Minister”, much to the relief of the BJP and dismay of the Shiv Sena. Smelling the whiff of chance to come back to power, the President of the Nationalist Congress Party Sharad Pawar will be meeting the Congress leader Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi on Monday to deliberate upon the same issue.
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut has also claimed that his party has the support of 170 MLAs and the number could reach 175. For formation of government in the 288-member Assembly, 144 is the half-way mark. Social media, especially twitteratis are screaming and trolling Raut by saying, “If Shiv Sena has a support of 170 MLAs who is stopping them to approach the Governor of the state and staking claim.”
However, media reports, based on a comment made by NCP leader Praful Patel, that the party could be willing to support BJP from “Outside” have not ruled out fresh alignments. The game if thrones is on. However, a clear picture will emerge when the government is formed, whether it is with the help of the Shiv Sena or with the NCP. For now, the simple conclusion seems to be that the BJP-led government will again be formed in Maharashtra with Devendra Fadnavis at its helm.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government on Saturday approved Rs. 10,000 crore as a special provision to provide immediate assistance to farmers affected by unseasonal rains. As per initial evaluation, crops on 54.22 lakh hectares spread across 325 talukas in at least half dozen districts have been damaged. The damaged crops include jawar, paddy, cotton and soyabean. Vijay Shivtare the only representative of Shiv Sena, the Minister of State for Water Resources and Water Conservation attended the meet.
The term of the Maharashtra Assembly ends on November 9 and if the government is not formed and sworn-in by then, there is all likelihood of imposition of President’s Rule, which looks unlikely as in this muscle game it is the party which is at the Centre that will have the last laugh and we have seen this happening in Jammu and Kashmir.
