The Shiv Sena on Monday asked the Bharatiya Janata Party to respond to its proposal on the extent of its participation in the Maharashtra government before the November 10 trust vote in the Assembly. “Talks with the BJP are going on in the right direction. The decision should be finalised before the trust vote,” said Anil Desai, Sena MP in the Rajya Sabha.
Mr. Desai said party president Uddhav Thackeray would take a final decision upon completion of talks. He refused to divulge further details on the Sena’s proposal. Mr. Thackeray had on Sunday said that he would make his position public in two days.
According to sources, the party is sticking to its demand of 10 ministerial berths and the post of Deputy Chief Minister.
Mr. Thackeray, who had initially decided to stay away from the swearing-in of Maharashtra’s first BJP Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, participated in the function after BJP president Amit Shah and other senior party leaders spoke to him. Mr. Thackeray’s attendance was seen as a positive step from the Sena towards sorting out differences.
The Sena had claimed on Friday that the BJP was not honouring its promise and had not even responded to its proposal on power-sharing. The BJP, which has won 122 seats in the Assembly, requires 23 more for a majority. The Sharad Pawar–led Nationalist Congress Party has already declared that it would give unconditional outside support to the BJP government and abstain from voting in the Assembly. The Sena, however, has asked the BJP whether it will accept the support of the NCP, whose leaders are facing numerous cases of corruption. The BJP has neither accepted nor rejected the NCP’s offer.
