AMN
The political drama in Maharashtra took an interesting turn on Thursday when Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut met NCP chief Sharad Pawar in Mumbai. Though Raut called it a “courtesy visit”, the meeting has sent the political rumour mills in the state on an overdrive.
The Sena once again indicated it had not given up its claim to the post of chief minister, saying that equal sharing of power must mean sharing of the top post as well. Adopting a harsh tone, it accused the BJP of enacting a “second act” of the “use and throw” policy while dealing with its ally. as a “courtesy call”.
“It isn’t unusual for me to meet Mr Pawar. I meet him often. We discussed the current political scenario in the state, among other things,” said Raut, who had also met Pawar on the day of results.
The saffron allies Sena and BJP are locked in a dispute over the power-sharing formula for the new government. The Uddhav Thackeray-led party wants rotational chief ministership and half of the portfolios, demands rejected by its senior partner, the BJP.
On the other hand, the NCP and its ally, the Congress, won 54 and 44 seats, respectively.
Whatever was decided when the two parties stitched up an alliance before the Lok Sabha elections should be implemented, Sena mouthpiece `Saamana’ said in an editorial. Raut earlier on Thursday also described as rumours reports that his party has softened its stand on the issue of sharing power with BJP.
“The (reports that) Sena has softened (its stand), has compromised and relinquished equitable distribution of posts, are all rumours,” he said in a tweet.
“This is the public, which knows everything. Whatever will was decided (between BJP and Sena), will happen,” he added.
The developments came after Maharashtra minister Eknath Shinde was on Thursday elected the party’s leader in the state legislature. His candidature was proposed by party leader Aaditya Thackeray, whose name was also doing the rounds for the post.
The election was announced at a meeting of the newly-elected Sena MLAs at party office Sena Bhawan in Dadar area.
At the meeting, Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray also reportedly expressed his dismay at Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s remarks that sharing the chief minister’s post did not figure in the talks between the top Sena and BJP leaders ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.