Maharashtra Governor to BJP: Indicate willingness, ability to form govt

According to a statement issued by Raj Bhavan, the Governor has asked caretaker Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is also the leader of the state BJP legislative party, to “indicate the willingness and ability of his party to form the government”.

“Elections to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly were held on October 21 and the results were declared on October 24. However, despite the passage of 15 days, no single party or alliance of parties has come forward to form the government,” the statement said. It added: “The Governor has therefore decided to explore the possibility of formation of government and today asked the leader of the elected members of the single largest party, that is BJP, to convey its willingness and ability to form the government.”

Confirming that the party is set to meet on Sunday, senior BJP leader and Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said, “The mandate of people is for mahayuti (grand alliance). Therefore, we don’t rule out the possibility of a BJP-Sena government coming to power.”

The BJP won 105 seats in the October 21 elections and its ally Shiv Sena bagged 56 seats. The majority mark in the 288-member Assembly is 145. Fadnavis resigned on Friday as the CM, blaming Sena for rebuffing all attempts to form an alliance government. He rejected Sena’s claims that the BJP had agreed to share the CM’s post in the event of both the parties coming to power in the state. However, Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray countered Fadnavis, saying such an arrangement was agreed to by BJP chief Amit Shah ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Welcoming the move by the Governor, Sena MP Sanjay Raut said, “He has done the right thing by inviting the single largest party as per the Constitution… BJP has been saying that it will form the government. So, we hope it does so.”

A senior BJP leader said, “We have adopted a wait and watch policy. At the same time, we are also exploring all options. But we are not in haste. Any government would be formed on our terms and conditions.”

Insiders in BJP said that since Sena has not withdrawn from the NDA, the possibility of a Sena-BJP government cannot be ruled out. Moreover, Uddhav deciding to meet BJP veteran L K Advani after the Supreme Court verdict on Ayodhya is being seen as an attempt by Sena to mend ties, said sources.

Meanwhile, NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said that the Governor should ensure that parties do not indulge in horse trading. “The Governor has invited the BJP to stake its claim. This process that has been initiated could have been done earlier as well,” he added.

Malik claimed NCP will vote against BJP on the floor of the House. “If Sena votes against BJP, the NCP can then think about initiating the process of setting up an alternate government,” he said.