Maha Ghamasaan: Sena cancels meet with BJP over Fadnavis remarks

Reacting sharply to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ remarks that no agreement over chief ministership had been inked with the Shiv Sena, the latter cancelled a meeting with the BJP on Tuesday.

The meeting was scheduled to take place at 4 pm on Tuesday, but Shiv Sena refused to attend it.

Sena MP Sanjay Raut said: “They (BJP) are not acknowledging that a50-50 power sharing act had taken place. So, what’s the utility of such a meeting now?”

In a statement likely to aggravate the delicate Shiv Sena-BJP relationship further, BJP's CM face Devendra Fadnavis has asserted he will remain Chief Minister for the next five years.

Dismissing claims by Shiv Sena of a 50-50 agreement, Fadnavis told reporters, "I assure you that this will be a BJP-led government. The Shiv Sena was not promised CM's post for two-and-a-half years when the alliance was formalised before the Lok Sabha polls."

Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray last week reminded the BJP of the 50:50 formula "agreed upon" between himself, BJP president Amit Shah and Fadnavis ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

He has also warned the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to not force him to “explore other options”, hinting at a possible alliance with NCP-Congress combine, smaller parties and the Independents.

The Shiv Sena has won 56 seats in the 288-member Assembly while BJP has 105 seats. The Sharad Pawar-led NCP has got 54 seats while the Congress bagged 44 seats.

Fadnavis said the BJP Legislature Party will elect its new leader on Wednesday.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already announced the name and the meeting will be a formality," he said, apparently referring to Modi's statement during campaigning for polls that Fadnavis will lead the coalition.

The Shiv Sena is demanding a written assurance that the CM post will be given to them for 2.5 years.

Fadnavis's statement comes in the backdrop of a no-filter attack on BJP by Sanjay Raut.

He said on Tuesday, "There's no Dushyant Chautala here whose father is in jail. We do politics of truth in Maharashtra. If someone tries to keep us away from power, it's not called politics of truth. We are seeing what's happening and how low people can stoop."

It was a clear reference to the way BJP cobbled up a government in Haryana where it fell six short of the magic number, but formed the government with Dushyant Chautala's help whose JJP ran an election campaign on Jat consolidation and anti-BJP rhetoric.

Chautala senior who is convicted of corruption and lodged in Tihar was released on a 14-day furlough a day after BJP chief Amit Shah and Dushyant announced their deal in Delhi, sitting on the sprawling lawns of the BJP's president's residence.