No clarity yet on Maharashtra government formation

Pune (Maharashtra)

 The Nationalist Congress Party has said that a final decision on the formation of the next government in Maharashtra with the proposed Congress-NCP-Shiv Sena will be taken in the next couple of days.

National Spokesperson of NCP Nawab Malik told media-persons that NCP President Sharad Pawar will meet Congress Interim President Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi on Monday, followed by a meeting of the top leaders of both parties the following day (Tuesday).

“Thereafter, the government formation process will be finalized…” Malik said, declining to elaborate.

In a related development, Bharatiya Janata Party’s Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs Raosaheb Danve-Patil said that there is a possibility of the BJP-Sena again returning to power soon, with a BJP chief minister.

“Such a situation would not have arisen if the late Balasaheb Thackeray had been alive today… We shall work according to the formula agreed upon by him along with the late Pramod Mahajan,” Danve-Patil said.

He said that as per the formula of 1995, the party which has the higher number of legislators would get the CM’s post and the other partner with lesser number of seats would get the Deputy CM.

Simultaneously, Republican Party of India President and Union Minister of State for Social Justice Ramdas Athawale declared that it would not be possible for the Sena to form a government in alliance with Congress-NCP.

“They cannot make a government with Congress-NCP… It is better if the Sena returns to the BJP fold and forms the government as soon as possible for the progress of the state,” Athawale urged.

Saying he had requested BJP President and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to mediate in the matter, the latter informed him (Athawale) not to worry as everything will be sorted out soon and a BJP-Sena government will come to power.

Meanwhile, authoritative sources in the Sena indicate that most aspects pertaining to the government formation among the three prospective partners – Sena-NCP-Congress – have been already finalized and Sena President Uddhav Thackeray is likely to be the net CM.

There are purported grand plans in the offing for a swearing-in ceremony in Mumbai with the probable presence of several non-BJP Chief Ministers of different states in the country, though full details are still being worked out.

Rejecting the old formula of 1995, the sources said it has not meaning now that the BJP has snapped relations with Sena and even ejected it out of the ruling NDA, making it sit with the Opposition in parliament from tomorrow.

Malik made it clear that the objective was to give “a stable government” to the state and any decision would be taken only in consultation with the Congress in the matter.

He said that the NCP core committee meeting presided over by Pawar, included several top state leaders and discussed in-depth the prevailing state political scenario and the government formation issues, 24 days after the October assembly election results were declared. (IANS)