After the BJP announced that it will not form government in Maharashtra, Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari Sunday invited the Shiv Sena, the second-largest party in the state, to "indicate the willingness and ability" to form the government in the state. "The Governor of Maharashtra Bhagat Singh Koshyari today asked the leader of elected members of the second-largest party, the Shiv Sena, Eknath Shinde to indicate the willingness and ability of his party to form the government in Maharashtra," a statement issued by the Raj Bhavan said. Maharashtra Government formation: Follow LIVE updates here The BJP on Sunday announced that it would sit in Opposition in Maharashtra after its ally Shiv Sena refusing to budge on its demand for the chief minister post. “Since Shiv Sena is not agreeing to government formation, we have decided not to insult the mandate given by people of Maharashtra and so we have decided not to form the Government. Our best wishes to Shiv Sena if they wish to form Government with the Congress and the NCP, ” Maharashtra BJP president Chandrakant Patil said after meeting Governor Bhagat Singh. While the long-time allies fought the assembly elections together, they failed to reach a consensus over the chief minister’s post, with Sena adamant on sharing it for half of the five-year tenure. Meanwhile, reiterating the demand for a Shiv Sena CM in Maharashtra, party chief Uddhav Thackeray also said they have carried the "palanquin" enough for other people and he will ensure that a Shiv Sainik sits inside it this time. The BJP won 105 seats in the October 21 elections and its ally Shiv Sena bagged 56 seats. Opposition Congress and NCP won 44 and 54 seats, respectively in recent assembly polls. The majority mark in the 288-member Assembly is 145.
