india

Updated: Nov 08, 2019 05:41 IST

Resort politics arrived in Maharashtra on Thursday as the Shiv Sena moved its legislators to a Mumbai hotel amid deadlocked negotiations with its ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the deadline for government negotiation just two days away.

Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray met party lawmakers and refused to back down from his demand of sharing the chief minister’s position. Senior leader Sanjay Raut sought to blame the BJP if the state was pushed into a period of political uncertainty. “By not initiating any steps to form the government, the BJP is now allowing other options and deliberately pushing the state to President’s Rule. This is an insult to the people of Maharashtra,” he said, adding that Thackeray will not commit the “sin” of breaking the alliance.

But the BJP appeared unwilling to give up the CM’s chair. “We have almost 50 seats more than them, how can we give the CM post up. Our party leadership in Delhi is totally against this. We are willing to offer the deputy chief minister’s post as well as an equal sharing of ministerial berths,’’ said a senior BJP leader on condition of anonymity.

A party delegation met governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to discuss the legal options given the delay forming government but did not stake claim to power. “The BJP will not form a minority government in Maharashtra. No one is going to break the Shiv Sena. We have not taken any step towards any other party, our every effort has been to ensure that the government is formed with Sena,” said senior leader Sudhir Mungantiwar.

Amid the tug-of war, the Sena moved its lawmakers to Hotel Rangsharda in Mumbai’s Bandra West, about 3km from Thackeray’s residence at Matoshree. Offering a view of the Mahim bay and the Bandra Worli Sea Link, the three-star property also has an auditorium on the ground floor. “We will be staying at Hotel Rangsharda for the next two days. We will do whatever Uddhav Sahab asks us to do,” said Shiv Sena MLA Gulabrao Patil. In the past, political parties have moved lawmakers to resorts and hotels in states such as Gujarat and Tamil Nadu in 2017 and Karnataka in 2018. Maharashtra, too, had seen MLAs been packed off to a hotel in 2002.

The last date for government formation is November 9, when the term of the current assembly expires. Any further delay can push the state into President’s Rule but some experts said that some more time could be sought for government formation.

“The governor has to call the single largest party to form government before the last day of the state assembly. The BJP, in this case, can be given time as per his discretion to form the government. It, of course, has to be a reasonable time period. If the BJP fails to form the government or fails the floor test, the next political bloc will be asked to do the same,’’ said Shreehari Aney, former advocate general of Maharashtra.

On Thursday, Koshyari also met the state advocate general Ashutosh Kumbhakoni.

The current stalemate began soon after the August 24 assembly election results threw up a hung House with the BJP at 105 seats, the Sena at 56, the Nationalist Congress Party at 54 and the Congress at 44. Independents and other parties won 29 seats in the 288-member assembly with a halfway mark of 145.

The Sena has remained adamant in its demand for rotating the chief minister’s position, even sending feelers to the NCP, which has all but ruled out backing the Sena. Senior leaders say the Congress and NCP, which fought the election in alliance, want the Sena to leave the National Democratic Alliance, led by the BJP, before considering any possibility of support.

On Thursday, a senior Sena leader, who is privy to the details of negotiation, said the alliance may snap if the BJP staked claim to form a minority government. “We will defeat the speaker candidate of the BJP…floor test will just be a formality,” the leader said. Earlier in the day, Sena mouthpiece Saamana claimed that “certain elements” were luring MLAs with money, and reiterated that people of the state want the next chief minister to be from the Sena.

Raut refuted rumours that party legislators were being kept under one roof to prevent defections. “No one can dare to touch our MLAs. There is no such threat... You’ve to understand that MLAs come from far off locations. They are yet to get official accommodations. In the scenario, it is the party’s responsibility to arrange it.”