‘Sena insulted mandate by going with NCP, Cong’
BJP says Sena abandoned Bal Thackeray’s thoughts of aligning with saffron party
MUMBAI: The BJP on Sunday accused its one-time ally Shiv Sena of committing the “sin” of abandoning its founder Bal Thackeray’s thoughts of aligning with the BJP by going with the Congress and the NCP for the sake of acquiring power in Maharashtra. Addressing a press conference after attending the BJP legislature party meeting here, senior party leader Ashish Shelar said they discussed a strategy to win the impending floor test comfortably.
“The Shiv Sena committed the sin of abandoning Bal Thackeray’s thoughts of aligning with the BJP and insulting the popular mandate by going with the Congress and the NCP,” he said. Shelar also said a meeting of Independent MLAs backing the BJP will be held separately.
Maharashtra is in a political bind following a coup pulled off by senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar who joined hands with the BJP on Saturday and took oath as deputy chief minister of a BJP-led government alongside Devendra Fadnavis who was sworn in as the CM in the hush-hush ceremony.
Saturday’s developments sabotaged the efforts of the Sena,
NCP and Congress to form a government in the state.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar had distanced the party from his nephew Ajit Pawar’s act. The Sena-NCP-Congress combine had on Saturday approached the Supreme Court seeking its direction that the BJP-led government proves its majority in a composite floor test within 24 hours. The apex court on Sunday, however, said the issue would be dealt with only after perusing the two lettersof Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari inviting Devendra Fadnavis and of the BJP leader staking his claim to form the government- it had demanded, on Monday.
Shelar said Fadnavis will win the floor trust with a majority in the 288-member assembly. “The legislature party meeting deliberated on strategy to be adopted during the floor test,” he said.