Devendra Fadnavis to meet top BJP leaders on Tuesday to decide on government formation in Maharashtra, meeting with Shiv Sena

New Delhi: Devendra Fadnavis will on Tuesday meet Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) core group members to decide on government formation in Maharashtra as Shiv Sena amps row with BJP over 50:50 seat-sharing formula. 

In Tuesday's meeting, which is being held a day after Fadnavis met Home Minister and BJP president Amit Shah in New Delhi, apart from finding a solution on government formation, the BJP leaders will also decide when the party will meet Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray to discuss about the current political scenario in the state.

BJP and Shiv Sena, who fought the Maharashtra assembly election in alliance, are locked in a bitter power tussle over seat-sharing. Shiv Sena wants a coalition government with a CM from both the parties - 2.5 years for each. However, BJP has clearly stated that Fadnavis will be Maharashtra CM for the next five years, but Shiv Sena will be very much a part of the government. 

Both the parties are not ready to bow down before each other and are looking for other options to stake claim to form government. BJP, however, has support of a few independent candidates and MLAs from smaller parties. 

Last week, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut had met Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar. And, Monday, amid delay in formation of a new government, Pawar met Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi to discuss about the political crisis in Maharashtra. The two parties have a pre-poll alliance. 

Pawar said there was no talk with Shiv Sena about lending support to it or taking its support in forming a government in the state and the mandate for his party was to sit in the opposition. 

"I met Congress president and briefed her about the ground situation prevailing in Maharashtra. We have not discussed exactly the formation of government in Maharashtra. We have NCP, Congress and few individual MLAs that are ready to support us. This is all we have," he told the media.

Pawar is expected to meet NCP leaders on Tuesday. Congress, too, is likely to hold a meeting with its party leaders, wherein, they are expected to chalk out strategies to form a non-BJP government in Maharashtra.