A delegation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) met Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Thursday to discuss legal options in the wake of the delay in government formation in Maharashtra. Without staking a claim to form the government, the delegation, led by State BJP President Chandrakant Patil, apprised Mr. Koshyari of the ongoing power-sharing tussle with the Shiv Sena, and requested a legal opinion on the stalemate from him.
Mr. Patil said they had informed the Governor that the mandate to the form the government was with the BJP, the Shiv Sena, Republican Party of India (Athavale), and other parties that have been part of the pre-poll alliance. “This alliance was also part of the State government for the past five years, between 2014 and 2019. This time, the government formation has taken a bit longer than usual, and so we wanted to seek a legal view from the honourable Governor,” said Mr. Patil, after meeting Mr. Koshyari at the Raj Bhavan in south Mumbai.
The BJP delegation included senior leaders Sudhir Mungantiwar, Girish Mahajan and Ashish Shelar. The delegation said discussions on the legalities and way forward will now be taken forward with New Delhi. We will now appraise our senior leaders in New Delhi, the leaders said.
The Governor also summoned Maharashtra Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni and held a brief discussion with him. Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Barve and Chief Secretary Ajoy Mehta were also summoned to discuss the prevailing situation. Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi party chief Prakash Ambedkar, along with other party leaders, also met the Governor to discuss the prevailing political situation in the State, sources in Raj Bhavan said.
When asked, senior leader Sudhir Mungantiwar said the BJP had no plans of reaching out to the Governor again any time soon. On being asked if the BJP would stake claim to form a minority government, he said: “As of now, we have no such plan.”
A senior BJP leader said the State is likely to move towards President’s Rule and the party is willing to play ball with the Sena for as long as the ally wants. “We have requested the Governor to give the [Shiv] Sena enough space for all the posturing. In less than a month, we will come together to form a government,” said a senior BJP Minister.
