india

Updated: Nov 13, 2019 03:48 IST

On a day when Maharashtra was placed under President’s Rule, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders indicated that the party will continue to watch events unfold before announcing a decision.

Party leaders who spoke to HT on condition of anonymity said that the party cannot be held responsible for the BJP-Shiv Sena split that acted as a catalyst for the political uncertainty and the imposition of President’s rule in the state. The BJP-Sena combine that fought as allies in the October assembly polls won a combined 161 seats of the 288 seat assembly. The BJP secured 105 seats and the Sena won 56.

A subsequent disagreement that erupted over the Sena’s demand for a rotational chief minister saw the Sena, the oldest ally of the BJP knock on the opposition’s door for a possible tie-up for government formation.There was, however, no headway in talks between the Sena, Congress and the NCP on coming together to form government, following which President’s Rule was imposed in the state.

As per Constitutional provisions, President’s Rule can be imposed in the state for six months after which the election commission will have to announce fresh polls in Maharashtra. Any party or alliance that stakes claim to form the government in the interim will have to prove its majority on the floor of the House, for President’s Rule to be dissolved.

“We did not expect the Shiv Sena to ditch us after fighting the elections together...,” a senior party functionary said.

On whether the party has begun to prepare for fresh elections, the functionary said, “if no party comes forth to form government, then elections are inevitable. We will take a call as events unfold.”

Regarding President’s rule, state in-charge of BJP Bhupendra Yadav, gave a cautious response and said, “We will analyse the situation and convey it to our seniors and then decide what action to take.’’

A second party functionary said the resignation of Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant from the council of ministers, and the “obstinacy” shown by the Sena in the wake of the 2019 assembly elections to insist on a rotational CM has “exacerbated the strain in ties”.

A third BJP leader privy to developments explained to HT, the main objective of wanting President’s rule was to delay formation of an NCP-Congress government with Shiv Sena. “If they all went to Raj Bhavan with their MLAs, the Governor would have been forced to invite them...and then we would have had a Sena CM,’’ he said.