Eknath Shinde, the leader of Shiv Sena’s legislative party and Sena scion Aaditya Thackeray on Monday told Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari that the Sena was willing to form Maharashtra’s next government with the support of its partners but needed 48 hours to let its brand-new allies complete their formalities. Emerging out of the meeting, Aaditya Thackeray told reporters after that the governor had denied their request of two days to prove support but not rejected their claim.
Governor Koshyari had asked the Sena last evening to indicate “its willingness and ability” to form the government but put a 24-hour deadline to his offer. The Sena’s rush to send an advance team to Raj Bhavan before all the creases were ironed out in the pact with the NCP-Congress combine was designed to beat this 7.30 pm deadline.
Aaditya Thackeray said they had complied with the first part of the Governor’s letter by indicating their willingness to form government. The Sena, he told reporters, would be back at Raj Bhavan once the formalities of its allies, the NCP and Congress, were complete.
A Raj Bhavan communique later confirmed that a delegation of Sena leaders “expressed their willingness to form the government” but “could not submit the requisite letter of support”.
“Further, they submitted a letter requesting for three days of extension of the deadline for submitting letters of support. The Governor expressed his inability to give any further extension,” the statement said.
{{/usCountry}}“Further, they submitted a letter requesting for three days of extension of the deadline for submitting letters of support. The Governor expressed his inability to give any further extension,” the statement said.
{{/usCountry}}Soon after , NCP’s Ajit Pawar said that he got a call from the Governor and will be going to meet him.
“At 8:30 pm the Governor called us and asked me to come to meet him. Along with Chhagan Bhujbal, Jayant Patil and others, I am going to meet him. We have no idea as to why did he call us. Governor is an important person so we are going to meet him,” said NCP’s Ajit Pawar
The Congress had held back its support to a possible Shiv Sena-led government in Maharashtra and declared in a statement shortly before the Sena’s deadline was to end that the Congress would need more discussions with the Nationalist Congress Party led by Sharad Pawar.
Maharashtra deadlock: Hectic parleys underway between Sena, NCP & Cong
“The Congress President (Sonia Gandhi) has spoken with Sharad Pawar. The party will have further discussion with NCP,” a short, 43-word statement issued by the Congress after marathon discussions over support to the Sena said.
The official statement contradicts earlier reports emanating from the NCP camp in Mumbai that Sonia Gandhi had told Sharad Pawar that she was okay with the deal.
The Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party and Sonia Gandhi-led Congress had conditioned considering support to the Sena government on its Union minister Arvind Sawant resigning from the Cabinet. The Sena delivered on this condition this morning, setting off deliberations in the two parties.
The Nationalist Congress Party promptly called a meeting of its top party leaders soon after in Mumbai. In national capital Delhi, Sonia Gandhi chaired a meeting of the Congress Working Committee that felt that the party leadership should also hear out the party’s Maharashtra leaders before firming up its stand.