After a day of rapid developments, the Maharashtra Governor rejected Shiv Sena's request for a three-day extension to submit the letters of support. A delegation of Shiv Sena led by Aaditya Thackeray met the governor and expressed their willingness to form government in the state.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led party, which ditched the BJP's offer of playing second-fiddle in the state, depends on the support of the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party to form government. The Congress, however, remains non-committal. "The Congress president has spoken to Sharad Pawar. The party will have further discussions with NCP," the party said in a statement.
The Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party's top decision-making body, has authorized party president Sonia Gandhi to take the final call
Later, Uddhav Thackeray spoke on the phone with Congress Interim President Sonia Gandhi to discuss government formation. Mr Thackeray also met with Nationalist Congress Party leader Sharad Pawar at a five-star hotel in Mumbai.
The NCP chief held a core group meeting in Mumbai today, over the current political situation in the state. The BJP on Sunday declined to form government in the state as it did not have the numbers. The state Governor then invited Shiv Sena, the second largest party, to stake claim.
The BJP and the Sena, long-term allies for around 30 years, won a majority together in last month's Maharashtra elections. The BJP won 105 seats and the Sena 56, which placed them comfortably ahead of the majority mark of 145 in the 288-member assembly. However, the Sena demanded a guarantee, in writing, that it would have the chief minister's post for half the term and an equal share in ministries, in what it called a "50:50" deal discussed with BJP chief Amit Shah. As Devendra Fadnavis denied any such deal, the Sena's attacks on the BJP became more and more vitriolic.
Here are the LIVE Updates of government formation in Maharashtra:
- A Shiv Sena delegation led by Aaditya Thackeray met with Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari
- Shiv Sena is likely to ask Governor for 24-hour extension on deadline to stake claim, sources say.
- The Shiv Sena had until 7:30 pm to express willingness to form government
"Three of us (independent MLAs) have come here. Whosoever Uddhav Sahab will decide, will be the Chief Minister," says Bacchu Kadu outside Raj Bhavan, Mumbai.
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut was on Monday admitted to Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai after he complained of chest pain, an official at the hospital said
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray spoke to Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday as the two ideologically mismatched parties tried to get past their differences to collaborate in a government in Maharashtra
Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray met NCP chief Sharad Pawar here on Monday and is learnt to have requested the latter to extend his party's support in forming government, say sources
BJP did not honour 50-50 formula, our alliance has broken: Arvind Sawant
"Sharad Pawar and Congress want that we should form the government which should run on a common minimum programme (CMP). There is a need for it today. We are working towards it," Mr Raut told reporters.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar said his party will take a decision pertaining to government formation in Maharashtra only after holding discussions with Congress.
Congress has called a Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting today at Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi's residence in Delhi, over the political situation in Maharashtra.
The Shiv Sena's Arvind Sawant announced this morning that he was resigning as a minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, in what is seen as a precursor to the party's severing of ties with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) after a feud over government formation in Maharashtra." itemprop="description
There's a meeting at 10 am today. We will proceed according to instruction from high command. But our original decision & decision of the people is that we should sit in opposition, that is the present position, says Mallikarjun Kharge
