As the power tussle continues between BJP and Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, amid uncertainty over government formation in the state, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray on Saturday met Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar in Mumbai. It was a brief, 10-minute meeting, MNS sources said.
The political impasse in the state continues after Assembly election results were announced on October 24, with victorious allies BJP and Shiv Sena bickering over chief minister’s post.
The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) won only one seat (Kalyan rural) in the Assembly polls. “Each seat will count when it comes to government formation by other parties in case the BJP fails to prove its majority. Raj Thackeray’s meeting with Pawar is important in that context,” sources said.
However, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has reached out to Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, indicating that BJP is willing to consider the latter’s demand for 50:50 power-sharing. It is believed that Sena leadership, too, has indicated that it was ready to soften its stance regarding the demand for rotational chief ministership. But in return, Uddhav has demanded two additional ministerial berths, one Cabinet and one Minister of State, in the Modi government at the Centre and sought governorship roles for party veterans in two states.