Shiv Sena will stake claim to form govt in Maharashtra if BJP fails: Sanjay Raut

MUMBAI: Senior Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, who has been constantly attacking the BJP for not accepting the 50-50 power-sharing deal reportedly agreed by the two parties, on Sunday said that his party will stake claim to form the government in Maharashtra if the saffron party fails to do so.

Addressing a press conference in Mumbai, the Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP said, ''The Governor has invited BJP to form the government, we welcome this step. We have repeatedly said that we want to end instability in the state. In the past 15 days after the assembly election results were announced, the BJP did nothing to end uncertainty in the state. If the party fails to form government in Maharashtra, then Shiv Sena will take responsibility for that.''

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut: Congress is not the enemy of the State. All parties have differences on some issues. https://t.co/ckIfQzI4TP — ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2019

Further lambasting the BJP, the Sena leader said that his party does not believe in any political deal to do politics. There is no such word like a 'deal' in the dictionary of Shiv Sena.'' 

Sena Rajya Sabha MP, however, hailed the SC verdict in the Ayodhya title dispute case. 

''Shiv Sena welcomes the verdict. The Ram temple issue does not concern just one party, it is a matter concerning the whole nation. Many Shiv Sainiks had in past made immense contributions to the Ram temple movement,'' Raut said.

Ahead of his press conference, Raut took to Twitter and shared a couplet of popular poet Shabina Adeep to hit out at BJP. 

“Jo khandani Raees hai wo, Mijaz rakhte hai naram apna,tumhara lehja bata raha hai, tumhari daulat nayi-nayi hai”, Raut tweeted.

जो खानदानी रईस हैं वो
मिजाज रखते हैं नर्म अपना,
तुम्हारा लहजा बता रहा है,
तुम्हारी दौलत नई-नई है। — Sanjay Raut (@rautsanjay61) November 10, 2019

Earlier on Sunday, the Shiv Sena lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and compared it to German dictator Adolf Hitler, while saying that Maharashtra was not a slave of the central government at Delhi. 

In an apparent reference to the BJP, the Shiv Sena in its mouthpiece ''Saamana'' said that the party which ruled on fear for five years has been left in bewilderment itself. 

Sena article stated that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi had declared outgoing CM Devendra Fadnavis as the chief ministerial candidate immediately after the results of state assembly election were announced. 

"However, Fadnavis could not take oath as the next CM despite having blessings from Delhi as Home Minister Amit Shah remained isolated from the events in Maharashtra," the Saamana said.

"Shiv Sena, which is the largest party of the 'Mahayuti', is not willing to talk to the outgoing Chief Minister, is the biggest defeat of the BJP," the editorial said while asserting that Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray will decide on who will become the next CM of Maharashtra. 

Hinting at a possible alliance between Shiv Sena and the NCP, Saamana article said that senior politician in the state Sharad Pawar will be instrumental in government formation in Maharashtra and added that several Congress MLAs have also met party chief Sonia Gandhi in Delhi. 

They also told Sonia Gandhi that the decision of Maharashtra should be handed over to Maharashtra only, Saamana claimed.

Amid all this, it was reported that Sharad Pawar-led National Congress Party (NCP) is ready to extend support to Shiv Sena to form government in Maharashtra. 

In the power-sharing arrangement, the NCP and Shiv Sena will form a coalition government while the Congress will extend the support from outside, according to Zee Media sources.

Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Saturday invited acting Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, leader of the single largest party BJP, to indicate its willingness to form the government in the state and prove majority by Monday 8 pm. 

However, if the BJP is not able to prove the majority on the floor of the house, the Governor may ask Shiv Sena, the second-largest party in the state with 56 seats the same. 

If the coalition between the Shiv Sena and NCP is finalised, the party is expected to rake in the support of a total of 163 MLAs- which includes MLAs from the Shiv Sena (56), Independents (7), NCP (54), and the Congress (44).