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Updated: Jul 21, 2020 01:25 IST

The Shiv Sena has been invited by Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Sunday to form the government in the state after leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party met him earlier in the evening and informed him of the party’s decision to pull out of the race.

The Governor has given the Shiv Sena time till 7:30 pm on Monday to respond to the invitation to form the government in Maharashtra.

Senior Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut asserted on Sunday that if his party chief Uddhav Thackeray had said someone from his party would become the chief minister in Maharashtra, then there would be a Sena CM in any case.

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Earlier on Sunday, caretaker chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and other senior BJP leaders met Governor Koshyari and informed him that the party could not stake claim to form the government as ally Shiv Sena was not willing to cooperate.

“We cannot stake claim to form the government as Shiv Sena is not willing to come with us. We have informed this to the governor,” State BJP chief Chandrakant Patil told reporters.

“In the state assembly polls, we contested as part of a grand alliance ‘Mahayuti’ and we got the mandate for this alliance. If Shiv Sena wants to insult this mandate and form the government with Congress and NCP, then we wish them all the luck,” Patil said after the BJP’s second core committee meeting to announce its stand on the Governor’s invitation to form government concluded.

With the political impasse continuing in the state, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has laid down a condition to support the Shiv Sena. Party leader Nawab Malik has said that Sena should first walk out of the NDA if it wants the support of the NCP.

“If the Shiv Sena wants our support, they need to break ties with the NDA. They need to dissociate from the BJP. Their minister in the Central Government (Arvind Sawant) should resign,” Malik said.

On being asked whether he would resign, Union Minister Arvind Sawant said he would abide by the directions given by party chief Uddhav Thackeray.

The newly elected Maharashtra Assembly is a hung house, where the BJP has 105 MLAs, the Shiv Sena has 56, the NCP 54 and the Congress 44 legislators.