Sena feels BJP senior union minister Nitin Gadkari can break the deadlock and pave the way for Uddhav to become CM

Mumbai:

Adding a fresh twist to the impasse between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena over formation of the new government in Maharashtra, agrarian expert and advisor to Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, Kishore Tiwari shot off a letter to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat seeking the latters intervention in ending the deadlock. Tiwari has suggested to RSS chief suggesting that BJPs Union Minister for Transport Nitin Gadkari be deputed to end the stalemate. He claimed that once Gadkari breaks the deadlock, Sena president Uddhav Thackeray can be sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

Speaking to newspersons here, the noted agrarian expert stated that the BJP top brass should depute its senior leader Nitin Gadkari for negotiations with the Sena leadership over government formation. Tiwari argued that not only Gadkari would honor the coalition dharma, but will also be able to end the impasse in a matter of just two hours. Tiwari.  He claimed that once the deadlock is broken, Sena President Uddhav Thackeray can be sworn-in as Chief Minister for the first 30 months and the BJP can decide who will be its nominee will be for the remaining 30-month tenure.

Tiwari argued that the current mood both in the BJP and the Sena is that the present Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis style of functioning is too individualistic and overbearing. Hence it is important that a politically seasoned person like Gadkari be sent to Maharashtra to fulfill the joint agenda of Hindutva and development of the two allies, he added.

The agrarian experts letter coincides Fadnavis meeting BJP President and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress President Sonia Gandhi meeting Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar in New Delhi and hours before Raut called on Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.

 The BJP leadership on the other hand is mindful of the implications of having its own Chief Minister in Maharashtra, as the nation awaits the Supreme Court of India verdict in the high profile Ayodhya case. It cannot let the Sena run away with milking the issue for its own political advantage.  Secondly the likely impact of developments in Maharashtra will have on assembly elections in Jharkhand.

The opposition Congress and NCP too mindful of the implications of the SC Ayodhya verdict and supporting Sena at this juncture have decided to wait and watch. However, former Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam has cautioned the Congress leadership of not to take the Sena-BJP war at face value and wait for the picture to become clear before jumping in to extend support. Likewise, Mumbai NCP President Nawab Mallik too has called for his party leadership to adopt “wait-and-watch” the fluid political situation before making any commitment to support the Sena-led government.