Proving that the BJP and its ally Shiv Sena are nowhere close to an understanding that could end the deadlock over government formation in Maharashtra, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut once again on Tuesday claimed that the next Chief Minister will be from the Uddhav Thackeray-led party.
A day after meeting Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Raut said that “the face and politics of Maharashtra are changing”.
He further asserted that what people call as ‘hungama’ (commotion) is the “fight for justice and rights”, adding that the final victory will be Sena’s.
“The Chief Minister will be from Shiv Sena only. The face and politics of Maharashtra are changing, you will see. What you call hungama (commotion) is not hungama but the fight for justice and rights… victory will be ours,” Sanjay Raut told news agency ANI.
Earlier today, Raut had asserted that “swearing-in is not anyone’s monopoly”.
“There will be a swearing-in soon as this is a right of the people. Swearing-in is not anyone’s monopoly,” he told reporters.
Earlier on Monday, amid the stalemate over government formation in the state, Shiv Sena leaders Ramdas Kadam and Sanjay Raut met Maharashtra Governor.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Raut said that the Shiv Sena was “not responsible” for the standoff.
“We kept our talk forward. He heard us. We just wanted to tell him that the government is not being formed, and for ensuing confusion, we are not responsible,” Sanjay Raut was quoted as saying by NDTV.
“Whoever has the mandate, will form the government. I cannot advise the governor. He will take his own decision,” he added.
The Shiv Sena leaders’ meeting with the Governor comes on the heels of Raut claiming that the party would soon have its chief minister with the support of “170 MLAs.”
The Sena and the BJP are locked in a tussle since the Uddhav Thackeray-led party raised demand for the chief minister’s post on a rotational basis and implementation of a “50:50 power-sharing” formula, which entails equal allocation of ministerial portfolios.
The BJP has rejected both the demands, which resulted in the formal power talks, which are yet to take off, hitting a wall.
Amidst the ongoing deadlock in Maharashtra over the next government, Raut on Sunday said the political impasse in Maharashtra was like a “chariot stuck in the mud of arrogance.”
On Saturday, Sena had sharpened its attack on BJP saying that the “President’s rule threat” is an “insult” to the state and people’s mandate, and warned that it will soon drop its “wait and watch mode”.
Meanwhile, Congress Interim President Sonia Gandhi has reportedly ruled out extending support to Shiv Sena to form government in Maharashtra.
Gandhi’s refusal to back Shiv Sena comes after Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar met her on Monday evening.
It is learnt that Sena had reached out to the NCP for support.