Shiv Sena leader Kishore Tiwari has urged the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to depute Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari to resolve the power-sharing tussle with the Bharatiya Janata Party in Maharashtra, PTI reported on Tuesday. The Sangh is the ideological parent of the saffron party.
Tiwari, known to be close to Gadkari, has written to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, asking him to take serious note of the political stalemate in the state. “Gadkari will be able to resolve the situation within two hours,” Tiwari wrote. He said people were worried about the nationalist organisation’s silence on the matter.
The Shiv Sena leader claimed Gadkari had been sidelined by the BJP, and alleged that the saffron party was not following “coalition dharma”, NDTV reported. “Therefore, the RSS should intervene and resolve the issue,” Tiwari added.
Earlier in the day, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut reiterated that the next chief minister would be from his party. He said politics in the state was changing and his party would win in its fight for justice.
The Sena wants the chief minister’s post for half of the five-year tenure and an equal division of Cabinet portfolios. The BJP wants Devendra Fadnavis to continue as chief minister for the full five-year term. Last week, Uddhav Thackeray cancelled a meeting with the BJP after Fadnavis denied that his party had agreed to an equal power-sharing agreement before the Lok Sabha polls.
The deadline for the government formation in Maharashtra is November 9, when the term of the 13th Assembly will end. If a new government is not formed by then, President’s Rule may be imposed.
On Monday, Fadnavis met BJP president and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi even as Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar met interim Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. Meanwhile, in Mumbai, Raut met Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari but said it was a courtesy call.
Even as Shiv Sena has indicated that it would not be averse to forming the government with the support of the NCP and the Congress, according to reports Sonia Gandhi has ruled out supporting them.
The BJP won only 105 seats in the Assembly polls last month, compared to 122 in 2014. The BJP and the Shiv Sena’s combined tally in the 288-seat Maharashtra Assembly stands at 161.
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