Cong stakes claim in Maharashtra

MUMBAI, Oct 8 (PTI) — In fast-paced developments, the Congress and BJP-Shiv Sena alliance today stepped up efforts to put together a government in Maharashtra which threw up a fractured verdict in the assembly elections.

A delegation of the Congress, which emerged as the single largest party with 75 seats 70 short of a simple majority in the 288-member state assembly, met Governor Dr PC Alexander and submitted a letter urging him to invite to form a government.

The Governor, according to delegation leader Prataprao Bhosale, asked him to submit the names of 145 MLAs who would support the government. The names would be submitted to the Governor during the next appointment at Raj Bhavan, Mr Bhosale said.

Asked by reporters how the Congress would muster the requisite support to reach the majority mark, Mr Bhosale said, in an apparent reference to NCP, "is it not obvious?"

The fact, however, is that even the coming together of Congress and NCP, which secured 58 seats, leaves them 12 short of a majority at 145.

On the other hand, the BJP-Shiv Sena combine, which bagged 125 seats and is 20 short of a majority, mounted efforts to rope in the NCP, independents and some smaller parties for support.

Senior BJP leader LK Advani told "Eenadu Television" NCP leader Sharad Pawar had been "informally sounded" to facilitate the formation of a BJP-Sena government.

Asked how long it would take for the Congress to reach an understanding with the NCP on formation of government, Mr Bhosale said, "four days."

To repeated questions if his party had contacted the NCP, Mr Advani said "it would not be fair for me to comment on the possibilities particularly when something has to be done immediately .... I would confine myself to say that informal sounding has been made."

He maintained that the situation in Maharashtra was such that something has to be done in a day or two as after the elections the state Governor must initiate the process of government formation, according to a transcript of the interview.

"You cannot have an election once again immediately and if immediate election is to be avoided something has to be done."

Both the Congress and NCP apparently waited for each other to come out first with the proposal on a coalition even as Mr Sharad Pawar accused the Congress of "failing" to give any "positive response" to NCP suggestion to keep "communal forces" out of power.

Congress spokesman Kapil Sibal told reporters in New Delhi here that the Congress, as a party, had got no proposal from the NCP.

Mr Pawar airdashed here to ascertain the views of newly-elected party MLAs while a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party would be held in Mumbai tomorrow to ascertain the legislators’ views.

"It seems some people in the Congress are not that eager to form such a government", proposed to keep "communal forces (Shiv Sena-BJP)" out of power.

Senior BJP leader and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde said the Governor should call the BJP-Sena alliance first to form government since it had got the maximum number of seats.

In his memorandum to the Governor, Mr Bhosale said "under the constitutional conventions and precedents the Governor should first ask the single largest party to form government and give it reasonable time to prove majority in the assembly".

Mr Bhosale cited examples of Rajiv Gandhi and PV Narasimha Rao, who in 1989 and 1991 respectively, were asked by the President to form the Government at the Centre.

Mr Bhujbal told reporters that "if Sena-BJP comes to power again due to the dithering on part of Congress leaders, it would solely be their (Congress) responsibility".

Asked if he and his party felt "humiliated" by Mr Bhosale and other Congress leaders meeting the Governor to stake Congress claim to form government without taking the NCP into confidence, Mr Bhujbal said "we are not greedy for power. We are even ready to sit in the opposition if need be. We are not their subjects".

Meanwhile, outgoing Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde was elected today as the leader of BJP Legislative Party.

Mr Munde later thanked his party legislators for electing him as the leader of the legislative party and said "we must accept the fact that the party has fared poorly in the Vidhan Sabha elections. It has lost as many as 24 of its seats while 23 new MLAs have come to Vidhan Sabha".

A joint Shiv Sena-BJP meeting will be held at Sena Bhavan tomorrow morning.