Shiv Sena stakes claim to form govt. in Maharashtra

[caption id="attachment_282182" align="alignnone" width="565"] Shiv Sena leaders Aaditya Thackeray and Eknath Shinde meet Maharashtra Governor BS Koshyari to stake claim to form government in the state, at Raj Bhavan in Mumbai on Monday.[/caption] • Governor declines to accept request citing failure to submit requisite letter of support • Late reports suggested the governor has invited NCP to stake claim to form government Mumbai, Nov. 11 (IANS): In a fresh twist to the ongoing political drama in Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena on Monday expressed its willingness and staked its claim to form the government in the state. "We were given 24 hours' time to express our willingness to form the government. We have shown our willingness and also staked our claim. We sought additional time of two days from the Governor, which was declined," Shiv Sena leader and MLA Aditya Thackeray told a media conference at Raj Bhavan on Monday evening. He said the Governor had accepted the claim, but refused to give extension of time, and that Sena would make another trip to Raj Bhavan soon. Congress, NCP and Sena leaders have claimed that letters of support have already been submitted to the Sena leadership, and that the Congress has also sent a fax in this regard to the Sena. A Sena leader said the party was required to submit the original letters of support and there was also a possibility of parading supporting legislators of all parties at Raj Bhavan, which would take time to organise. The disappointing development came after a hectic day in which Congress Interim President Sonia Gandhi spoke with Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar, and a letter of support was faxed to the Shiv Sena, according to sources on all sides. Earlier, Pawar met Sena President Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai to finalise the understanding, and later Thackeray spoke with Sonia Gandhi to make a formal request for support. As the Sena delegation reached Raj Bhavan, celebrations broke out among Shiv Sainiks, with distribution of sweets and bursting firecrackers in different parts of the state, including Mumbai and Thane.  

Will hold further talks with NCP—Congress

The Congress on Monday kept on the suspense on extending support to the Shiv Sena, which looks set to stake its claim to form the government in Maharashtra. The Congress, which held marathon meetings during the day, issued a statement saying it will hold "further discussion" with its alliance partner Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), which was all inclined to support the Shiv Sena in the state. In the statement issued after the meeting chaired by Sonia Gandhi, the party said: "The Congress Working Committee met this morning (Monday) and had a detailed discussion on the situation in Maharashtra after which a consultation was held with Maharashtra Congress leaders. The Congress President (Sonia Gandhi) has spoken to Sharad Pawar. The party will have further discussion with the NCP."   :  A delegation of Shiv Sena leaders on Monday met Maharashtra Governor BS Koshyari and expressed the party's willingness to form the government, but could not submit the "requisite letter of support", the Raj Bhavan said. The Sena sought three-day extension for submitting the letter of support, but the governor declined to accept the request, a Raj Bhavan statement said here in the evening. A delegation of Sena leaders met Koshyari and "expressed their willingness to form the government", it said. "The Sena could not submit the requisite letter of support. The Sena further submitted a letter requesting three- day extension of the deadline (which ended 7.30 pm on Monday) for submitting the letter of support. "The governor expressed his inability to give any further extension," the statement said. The Sena won 56 seats in the 288-member House to emerge as the second largest party, while the NCP bagged 54 and the Congress 44 in the last month's assembly polls. The majority mark is 145. The BJP, with 105 seats, emerged as the single largest party.