New Delhi: Farm activist and Shiv Sena leader Kishore Tiwari has blamed the “arrogance” of BJP president Amit Shah for the delay in formation of Maharashtra government.
In a letter to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, the former BJP leader has requested his intervention in the power tussle between the Sena and the BJP, which has stalled government formation for nearly two weeks despite the NDA having enough numbers.
Tiwari, who was with the BJP until September, has asked the RSS, the party’s ideological fountainhead, to take its job seriously and mediate. Tiwari also said union minister and Nagpur MP Nitin Gadkari, who has been “sidelined by the party for quite some time and was not given a key role during the Maharastra elections”, could lead the mediation too. “He has the capacity to resolve this issue soon. The BJP should delegate him to sort this issue out,” he wrote.
“The results were announced on October 24 and by 25 itself they could have formed the government,” Tiwari told ThePrint.
“But… the arrogance of the BJP, especially Amit Shah, who has told the state unit not to hold any talks with the Sena, has derailed the entire process,” he added.
The RSS has not responded to the letter so far. Government formation in Maharashtra has been stuck in the face of the Sena’s demand for shared chief ministership on rotation basis, and the BJP’s refusal to grant it.
“Dono pehle aap, pehle aap mai lage hue hai aur government form nahi hui hai (the government is yet to be formed on account of their tug of war),” Tiwari said. “Agar BJP pyaar se bolegi toh CM post ke liye bhi maan jayenege (the Shiv Sena will cede ground on the CM demand if the BJP says so with love),” he said.
Also Read: Maharashtra tussle continues — BJP won’t cede CM chair, Sena says won’t settle without it
‘Need government at earliest’
After a meeting with Amit Shah Monday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said there was a need to form the government at the earliest. The outgoing Maharashtra assembly’s term expires 8 November, by when a new government will have to be formed.
Fadnavis had also met general secretary Bhupendra Yadav, who was the party leader in charge of the Maharashtra elections.
The Sena is the junior ally in the alliance this time and contested 124 of the state’s 288 assembly seats. The BJP fielded candidates from 164 seats, with even smaller allies contesting on the party’s symbol. While the Sena has won 56 seats, the BJP has secured 105, and the two parties have been locked in a tug-of-war since the verdict over the exact nature of their coalition government.
This report has been updated to clarify that the BJP’s smaller allies in Maharashtra contested on the party’s symbol.
This report has been updated with additional information.
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