Mumbai: Maharashtra Congress leader Nitin Raut on Friday said that both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena have betrayed the voters by indulging in a tussle and not forming the government in the state after getting the majority.
"People of Maharashtra have voted for BJP and Shiv Sena as partners. They have got the mandate to form the government. Before elections, both the parties assured that they will together work for the development of the state, will resolve farmers' issues and provide justice to them.
They have broken the trust of the people," he said while speaking to ANI in Mumbai. "Its already been 15 days, both the parties are not changing their stand. This is disrespect for the people of Maharashtra. They both have shown that they are weak," he added.
The Congress leader further stated that media reports have surfaced that BJP is trying to poach MLAs from other parties.
"There were reports that some Congress MLAs were approached by BJP leaders with money. Yesterday one or two of our MLAs were offered around Rs 25 crore. We will do our best to stop the horse-trading pattern that started in Karnataka."
As the deadline -- November 9 -- for government formation in Maharashtra ends today, the Shiv Sena is not ready to settle for anything less than equal share in Cabinet portfolios and the chief minister's post for 2.5 years.
The BJP has emerged as the single largest party by winning 105 seats in the recently held Assembly polls. The Shiv Sena got 56 seats in 288-member Vidhan Sabha.
