Mumbai:
Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar has reminded the BJP that his party's offer of support when its minority government seeks a trust vote in the Maharashtra Assembly on Wednesday, stands.
"We have made our position clear. We want stability. We cannot have elections again. We will ensure that there will be no instability," Mr Pawar said, emphasising that "we will not hesitate to oppose any move that is wrong."
After a testing Sunday for the Shiv Sena, its chief Uddhav Thackeray warned the BJP that "if they take any support from the NCP, we will not stand with them."
On Wednesday, the BJP's Devendra Fadnavis must take the trust vote to determine if he will remain chief minister. "We will not hesitate to vote against them if the BJP and NCP combine," Mr Thackeray threatened, stating that the Shiv Sena will then serve as the opposition in the state.
Mr Pawar's party has said its 41 legislators will abstain from voting which will ensure that Mr Fadnavis wins the trust vote. NCP's offer - the party calls it "unconditional outside support" - robbed the Sena of much of its power in negotiations with the BJP over his party joining the government.
On Sunday, PM Modi inducted Suresh Prabhu into his cabinet at the Centre. Mr Prabhu, who was a member of the Shiv Sena, joined the BJP on Sunday morning in a major snub to the Sena.
Mr Thackeray had nominated Anil Desai for its "quota" of a Cabinet minister. Mr Desai flew to Delhi on Sunday morning. But after the BJP made it clear that Mr Desai would rank as a junior minister, Mr Thackeray ordered him to fly back to Mumbai.
The BJP wants the Sena to accept that its junior partner status cannot entitle it to the post of Deputy Chief Minister or an important portfolio like Home or Finance.
It is Sharad Pawar's poor record as an ally that has made the BJP keen to strike a deal with the Sena, with whom it ended a 25-year alliance ahead of the state election over how many seats each side would contest. Mr Thackeray ran a maximally vicious campaign with an embarrassingly clanging result for him. The BJP won its best ever result, but not a majority.