BJP will soon form government in Maharashtra: Union Minister Naqvi

Amid the impasse over the formation of a new government in Maharashtra, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Saturday said that the BJP will soon form a government in Maharashtra. The Shiv Sena is insisting on having the chief minister's post for two and a half years, while the BJP says there was no agreement between the two parties on sharing the post of a chief minister like this.

"There is no problem in Maharashtra. Soon the government will be formed there," Naqvi told reporters when asked about the political crisis in Maharashtra over power-sharing between BJP and Shiv Sena. Speaking about the dignity and empowerment of women without discrimination in Uttar Pradesh, Naqvi said, "We believe in development with dignity and empowerment without discrimination"

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Senior Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday said his party will talk to the BJP only on the issue of the chief minister's post. He also claimed that Sena has 170 MLAs supporting them and that the figure can even reach 175. "The impasse continues. There is no discussion on government formation as yet. If talks happen, it will only be on the issue of the chief minister's post," Raut told reporters. The Rajya Sabha member further that Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray was in Aurangabad on Sunday to take stock of the crop losses in that district due to unseasonal rains last month.

Maharashtra's Finance Minister and senior BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar had said on Friday that the state may head for President's rule if the new government is not in place by November 7 in the state. The minister's comments came as there appeared no headway in government formation even eight days after the results of the October 21 Assembly elections.

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Maharashtra poll result

When the poll result was announced on October 24, the saffron alliance in Maharashtra won a combined tally of 161 (BJP- 105, Sena -56). In a surprising comeback, the 'Maha- Agadhi' alliance (NCP-Congress), Sharad Pawar's NCP bagged 54 seats while the languishing Congress won 44 seats. Though the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance will form the next government, it was handed a diminished mandate compared to 2014 where it won 185 seats.