A man stands near a boat with a huge cutout of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s symbol in the Arabian Sea, on the eve of the swearing-in ceremony of Maharashtra chief minister-elect Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai, yesterday.
IANS/Mumbai
The Bharatiya Janata Party yesterday said it was unlikely that former ally Shiv Sena will join the party’s first government in Maharashtra.
“Talks with Shiv Sena going on very amicably. No outcome yet. Seems unlikely Shiv Sena will be part of government as of now,” BJP general secretary Rajiv Pratap Rudy said in a tweet.
Despite sending positive feelers, the Shiv Sena, on its part, remains undecided on the issue amid speculation of differences over the number of ministries it would be given by the BJP.
The party will make its final stand clear after a high-level meeting to be presided over by party chief Uddhav Thackeray.
The Shiv Sena meanwhile said it “wholeheartedly welcomes” Devendra Fadnavis as the new chief minister-designate, two days after the BJP anointed him.
“We wholeheartedly welcome the new CM of Maharashtra... We are confident that with Narendra (Modi) in Delhi and Devendra (Fadnavis) in Maharashtra, nobody can prevent ‘achhe din’ (good days) from coming to Maharashtra,” the Shiv Sena said in an editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamana yesterday.
The Sena recalled how the party was closely acquainted with the 44-year-old Fadnavis for many years and that “there are no doubts that his feet would remain firmly planted on the ground.”
The editorial also said that although Fadnavis is from Vidarbha region of eastern Maharashtra, he must work for the entire state as a whole. “A Vidarbha leader will be heading the state once again and the entire state is proud of him.”
“It will be Fadnavis’ responsibility to remove prejudices that ‘Vidarbha is a backward region’... Vidarbha is blessed with black gold (Kaala Sona) - coal. The coal kings are very influential in Maharashtra... A lobby of businessmen-traders wants to carve out Vidarbha from Maharashtra, but this would not be in the interest of the people,” it advised Fadnavis.
Hinting that the Shiv Sena is keen to join the BJP’s first government in the state, the editorial wondered whether the BJP would like to sully its image by taking the help of the corrupt Nationalist Congress Party.
“The mandate of the people is for change...by permanently burying the (former) Congress-NCP government. However, if the BJP wants to accept the NCP’s help in running the government, then this topic can end right now...,” the editorial said.
The welcome for Fadnavis was the first official comment by the Shiv Sena since his election as the chief minister-designate.
In a related development, the NCP lashed out at the BJP for the mega swearing-in ceremony planned for today.
“BJP a party with a difference, hence the most lavish oath-taking ceremony in the history of Maharashtra,” NCP state spokesman Nawab Malik said in a tweet.
The NCP has already announced it would abstain during a vote of confidence of the new government.
Meanwhile, hectic last-minute details were being worked out for the swearing-in of Fadnavis and a small team of ministers by Governor C V Rao at the Wankhede Stadium today afternoon.
The ceremony will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah, central ministers, party leaders, chief ministers, film personalities, businessmen, sportspersons and other celebrities.
l The BJP’s ally Rashtriya Samaj Paksha was accused of cheating by the management of Mumbai’s famous Shanmukhananda Hall.
According to a spokesperson, the RSP booked the Sri Shanmukhananda Chandrasekarendra Saraswati Auditorium in central Mumbai for a party function on August 11, for four hours.
The RSP, which is led by Mahadeo Jankar, issued a cheque of Rs936,000 towards deposit, rent and other services.
However, the cheque bounced, the spokesperson said.
On the RSP’s instructions, the management again presented it for payment, but it bounced again, this time with the remark “Account Closed”.
