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Updated: Jul 23, 2020 22:54 IST

Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday employed the analogy of a cricket match to drive home the point that much like in games, political fortunes too can change dramatically. The state of Maharashtra was placed under Central rule on Tuesday after no party was able to drum up requisite numbers to stake claim since the election results were declared on October 24.

The BJP and Shiv Sena, who fought the elections together, could not come to an agreement over the idea of a rotational chief minister. The Sena has been saying that there was an in-principle agreement over the issue but the BJP maintains that no such promise was made.

#WATCH "Anything can happen in cricket and politics. Sometimes you feel you are losing the match, but the result is exactly the opposite. Also, I have just arrived from Delhi, I don't know the detailed politics of Maharashtra,"Union Min Nitin Gadkari on Maharashtra govt formation pic.twitter.com/JB6cfeMRok — ANI (@ANI) November 14, 2019

“Anything can happen in cricket and politics. Sometimes you feel you are losing the match, but the result is exactly the opposite,” Nitin Gadkari was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

The BJP was the first party to be invited by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to stake claim, but it decided to opt out and blamed the Shiv Sena, their pre-poll alliance partner, for betraying the people’s mandate given to the two parties. It also wished the Sena luck with forming the government.

The governor then invited the Shiv Sena to explore the possibility of government formation. The Sena, which had initiated discussions with the NCP and the Congress, met the governor and sought 48 hours, but the request was declined.

Subsequently the governor invited the NCP to stake claim and form a government.

The next day the president’s rule was imposed in the state and the state assembly was kept in suspended animation.

On being asked about the situation in the state, Gadkari said: “I have just arrived from Delhi, I don’t know the detailed politics of Maharashtra.” The minister’s response elicited a good laugh from the audience.

Gadkari, in the wake of political instability in the state, assured the investors that infrastructure projects in the state will go on as before.

“Governments change, but projects continue.I see no problem with it. Be it the BJP, NCP or Congress,any party which forms government will support positive policies,” said the minister.

Earlier this week, the Shiv Sena pulled out its lone minister Arvind Sawant from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet, signalling the end of partnership between the two parties in Maharashtra.

Breaking his silence on the Maharashtra impasse, Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said the Sena’s demand for a rotational chief minister was a new one which was not acceptable to the BJP.

Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena, NCP and the Congress are busy with hammering out a deal to be able to stake claim.

The Sena boss on being pointed out that the ideologies of the said parties do not match,referred to the BJP and PDP alliance in Jammu and Kashmir. He said a way will be found to work together with the NCP and Congress. However, he did not foreclose a possibility of getting together with the BJP, saying “it’s politics”.