'No 50-50 Formula Was Decided': Amid Pressure from Sena, Fadnavis Confident of Retaining CM Chair

Mumbai: Maharashtra’s caretaker chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has said the Shiv Sena was not promised the CM's post for two-and-a-half years when the alliance was formalised before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Fadnavis also denied there was need for a ‘Plan B’ and said the government would be formed with the Sena, even as the party continued to flex its muscle.

The BJP and the Sena, with 105 and 56 seats respectively in the new Assembly, are locked in a bitter tussle over sharing of power. Ever since the results were announced on October 24, there have been statements from sections in the Congress-NCP, though not officially, hinting that a move by the Sena to look beyond the BJP for government formation may get positive feelers.

BJP sources said party chief and Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s meeting with Thackeray scheduled for October 30 had been put on hold, even as formal and informal talks with the Sena were on. No official date for the swearing-in has been decided yet.

On Monday, Sena leader Sanjay Raut had warned the BJP that it should not force the party to look for an alternative to form the next government in Maharashtra and asserted there are "no saints in politics".

Speaking to a news channel, Raut said, "We believe in the alliance (with BJP) as we contested the polls jointly. But the BJP should not compel us to commit the sin of looking for an alternative for government formation."

"No one is a saint in politics," he added, possibly a hint to the senior ally that committing such a "sin" was not entirely unfathomable for the Sena. Raut claimed the two parties had agreed on an "equal power" sharing formula and had even made an announcement on it in Mumbai.

The BJP, however, has said it has the support of 15 independent MLAs and asserted the party will "comfortably" form the next government taking the Shiv Sena along with it.