In a latest development on the government formation in Maharashtra, the BJP MP Sanjay Kakade claimed on Tuesday that around 45 newly elected Shiv Sena MLAs are keen to form government by joining hands with BJP.
Sanjay Kakade, a Rajya Sabha member of BJP, gave the statement while talking to a television channel.
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“Out of 56, there are 45 MLAs who have expressed their interest in government formation along with the BJP. They are calling and asking us to induct them into the government,” Mr Kakade said, according to news agency Press Trust of India.
He added that the Shiv Sena MLAs have been saying “do whatever, but we want to be part of the government with BJP”.
The BJP and Shiv Sena which formed government in the state in 2014 after contesting elections seperately, are again locked in a battle after the results came out on October 24, giving 105 seats to BJP and 56 seats to Shiv Sena.
When contacted by PTI, Kakade said that the 45 MLAs were of the opinion that BJP and Shiv Sena should join hands for the government formation in the state.
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray last week pitched the 50-50 formula agreed upon between the two allies ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
On Saturday, he asked for a written assurance from the BJP for implementing the equal formula for sharing of power in the state before forming the government.
Read: ‘Need written assurance from BJP, chance to run govt for 2.5 yrs’: Shiv Sena on Maharashtra deal
In the recently concluded Assembly polls to 288-member Maharashtra Assembly, BJP bagged 105 seats, a loss of 17 seats from the last Assembly elections in 2014, while its ally in the state Shiv Sena came down to 56 from 63.
The ally’s opponents Congress and NCP performed better as compared to the last elections getting 44 and 54 seats respectively in the state.