President's Rule In Maharashtra If Government Not Formed Till November 7: Top BJP Leader

If the government is not formed by November 7, President's rule may be imposed in Maharashtra, outgoing finance minister and senior BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar said on Friday as Shiv Sena continued to play hardball with the saffron party over the equal power share in the state. The remarks of the BJP leader came as the pre-poll alliance of the BJP and Shiv Sena could not reach consensus on government formation even after 8 days of Assembly election results.

Referring to Shiv Sena's remark that they have other options, Mungantiwar said that even BJP has options open and many people were coming forward to support the saffron party. "If they have options open, does BJP does not have options? Even BJP has options open. If many hands are coming towards Shiv Sena, likewise many people are coming forward to support BJP also," Mungantiwar told a private TV channel.

Amid the ongoing power tussle, senior Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Friday reiterated that the chief minister of Maharashtra the state will be from his part only. The remarks of Raut came a day after his meeting with NCP leader Sharad Power.

Taunting the BJP, Raut said that the party without majority shouldn’t dream about forming government. He added that if the Shiv Sena decides, it can garner enough support to form the government.

Also Read | Have Other Options Too But Don't Want To Commit 'Sin': Shiv Sena To BJP

"If Shiv Sena decides, it'll get the required numbers to form stable government in the state. People have given mandate to form government on basis of 50-50 formula that was reached in front of people of Maharashtra. They want Chief Minister from Shiv Sena,” Raut said.

The Shiv Sena, which fought the Maharashtra Assembly elections in alliance with the BJP, has been demanding equal share in the power. The BJP, however, has outrightly rejected the idea of sharing power with a regional ally and said that Devendra Fadnavis will be the Mahrashtra chief minister for full five-year term.

Despite efforts from the BJP top brass, the Sena is adamant on having 50 per cent share in power. The Sena wants the 50:50 formula, where both parties will share the post of the Chief Minister for 2.5 years each. In recently held Maharashtra Assembly Elections, the BJP contested in 164 seats of the 288-member Assembly and won 105 while Shiv Sena contested 124 seats and won 56. Rest of the seats went to the NCP-Congress alliance and others.