Maharashtra deadlock: As Sena goes into huddle, BJP expects ally to soften stand

A senior minister said, “Although a minority government is not impossible, we are not in a hurry to experiment.”

The BJP believes if a government is not formed, the Sena will have to explain to the people why it failed to honour the public mandate. Instead of giving an unstable government, party leaders said, the BJP will prefer mid-term polls.

BJP leaders also believe the Sena would not be able to sustain its strength without being in power, and that taking an “adamant stance” beyond a point could boomerang, adversely affecting the party in future polls.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and other senior leaders explored options before the party through the day and held consultations with legal and constitutional experts on implications if a government is not formed before November 9, when the term of the present Assembly ends.

At the BJP meeting in Mumbai, the leaders are learnt to have discussed two possibilities: either a BJP-Sena government through some “give and take”, or in the absence of government formation, the Governor asking Fadnavis to continue as caretaker CM for the next 15 days. According to BJP leaders, that would be followed by President’s rule for six months, and subsequent elections.

Unwilling to buckle under Sena’s pressure on power-sharing arrangements, BJP leaders have adopted an aggressive stand. A senior leader who is part of the core committee said, reiterating what party chief Amit Shah is learnt to have told Fadnavis during their meeting in Delhi on Monday, “Our stand is clear. We want to form the government with Shiv Sena to give stable government, but there is no question of negotiations on Fadnavis as chief minister.”

Raut, however, maintained that the BJP will be unable to pass a floor test without the Sena’s support. He also accused the saffron party of trying to create a situation for imposition of President’s rule by not taking steps to form the government. BJP leaders also insist the Sena will not cross the Rubicon. “The BJP and Shiv Sena are like ideological brothers…the mother here is the Hindu community,” a party leader said.

They pointed out that even in 2014, when the two parties had contested separately, Fadnavis had taken oath without an alliance on October 31, and it took more than a month for the Sena to join the government.

Shiv Sena had initially decided to boycott the swearing-in ceremony, but last-minute phone calls from Amit Shah and late Arun Jaitley had brought Uddhav Thackeray to the dais, they pointed out.

This time, too, they believe, a breakthrough will come before November 9, with a central BJP leader expected to intervene on Friday to mollify Sena leaders.

While BJP leaders ruled out any attempt to split either the Sena or opposition NCP and Congress, both Maharashtra Congress chief Balasaheb Thorat and senior NCP leader Dhananjay Munde accused the BJP of using unethical means and trying to poach newly elected MLAs.

‘90% new Congress MLAs for backing Sena’

Mumbai: While state Congress chief Balasaheb Thorat and other senior party leaders are expected to fly to New Delhi on Friday to discuss sentiments of the newly elected MLAs with the central leadership, Leader of Opposition in outgoing Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar on Thursday claimed that 90 per cent of Congress MLAs want to keep the BJP at bay by extending support to a Sena government. —ENS