New Delhi:
As the impasse over government formation in Maharashtra continued, Shiv Sena fired fresh salvo at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It said that Uddhav Thackeray will decide on the next chief minister of Maharashtra and with Nationalist Congress party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar will play an "important role". In his editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana', senior Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said that "Maharashtra will decide its CM and Delhi shouldn’t intervene".
Raut also hit out at Maharashtra's caretaker chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and accused him of playing politics of fear, while making a reference to German dictator Adolf Hitler in the backdop of logjam over government formation in the state. Without naming Fadnavis, Raut said, "When ways of threatening and seeking political support don't work, it is time to accept that Hitler is dead and the looming clouds of slavery have disappeared."
In his column 'Rokhthok' in Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana', he said Fadnavis, despite being blessed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to become chief minister for the second time, has not been able to assume the top post in Maharashtra.
"He could not take oath because BJP chief Amit Shah has remained aloof from developments in the state," Raut said.
In the October 21 polls, the BJP won 105 seats while ally Sena won 56 seats. The majority mark in the 288-member state Assembly is 145. However, both the parties have been bickering over the chief minister's post, resulting in a stalemate over government formation.
"Fadnavis’s biggest failure is that Sena is not ready to talk with him. This means that Uddhav Thackeray will decide who will become the next Chief Minister and NCP chief Sharad Pawar will play an important role in this process," said the editorial.
NCP president Sharad Pawar and many Congress leaders have communicated to their party chief Sonia Gandhi that their priority is to have a "non-BJP" chief minister in the state, the Rajya Sabha member said in the Marathi publication.
"Everyone wants to end the politics of revenge, subservience and playing dirty tricks," Raut said.
"Those who used to threaten others with their power are now scared," he said in remarks laced with sarcasm.
