It was another high day of drama in Maharashtra. Here’s the story so far
Governor gives NCP till 8:30 PM tomorrow
Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Monday night invited the NCP, which is the third largest party in the state, to Raj Bhavan, state unit chief Jayant Patil said.
He said the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will discuss the issue with its ally, the Congress, and get back to Koshyari by or before 8:30 pm on Tuesday.
Patil, however, didn't mention government formation while talking to reporters.
The Sharad Pawar-led NCP has 54 MLAs in the 288-member Assembly which is the third largest party after the BJP (105) and the Shiv Sena (56).
Cong doesn’t give support
Dashing the hopes of Shiv Sena, the Congress on Monday did not commit support to a government headed by Uddhav Thackeray's party in Maharashtra as some senior leaders expressed opposition to such a move.
According to sources, three senior leaders -- A.K. Antony, Mallikarjun Kharge and K.C. Venugopal - particularly were opposed to extension of support to a Shiv Sena government as they feared backlash for the Congress in other states.
The Congress has not closed the window but the party has ideological issues with the Shiv Sena, said sources.
Even Maharashtra leader Manik Rao Thackeray had reservations as he said that "there is an issue of ideological differences with Shiv Sena".
No extra time for Sena
Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari met a delegation of Shiv Sena which expressed willingness to form a government in the state but he declined the party's request for a three-day extension for submitting 'requisite' letters of support from other political parties.
A press release from Maharashtra Raj Bhavan said that a delegation of Shiv Sena met Governor and expressed willingness to form the government.
"However, they couldn't submit requisite letter of support. They submitted a letter requesting a three-day extension for submitting letters of support. Governor expressed inability to give further extension," the release said.
Earlier, Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray had said that his party's willingness to form the government in Maharashtra was conveyed to Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.
