Will work to form BJP govt, says Rane; mocks Sena for getting fooled by Congress

Mumbai, November 12

BJP leader and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Narayan Rane on Tuesday said he would do “whatever” to ensure his party forms a government in the state.

Rane, a Rajya Sabha MP, was a former Shiv Sena CM who then quit the saffron party to join the Congress before floating his own outfit and then joining the BJP.

“I will do whatever it takes to form a new BJP government, but I will not discuss (modalities) how,” he told reporters here.

He said the Shiv Sena had been “unsuccessful” in government formation as yet, and went on to claim “I don’t think the Shiv Sena will go with the Congress-NCP alliance”.

President’s rule was imposed in the state on Tuesday after an impasse on government formation could not be resolved.

The BJP, with 105 seats, stepped back from staking claim to form a government, while the Sena, which went to the Governor on Monday evening, could not get letters of support from the Congress and NCP.

The two opposition parties, after deliberations in Mumbai and Delhi, told the media they had not taken any decision about supporting the Shiv Sena to form government in Maharashtra yet, but will hold further discussions.

At a joint press conference with Congress leaders, NCP president Sharad Pawar said the two parties will discuss and evolve a consensus on what should be the policies and programmes if the Shiv Sena was to be supported.

Speaking to reporters, Rane said it was unfair to delay the formation of a government and accused the Sena of not cooperating with the BJP despite claiming publicly that it cared for the concerns of the state’s people.

Rane said he had met Devendra Fadnavis, who ceased to be chief minister after President’s rule was imposed, and the latter had asked him to start work on forming a government.

“The BJP will meet the Governor with a list of 145 MLAs (halfway mark in the 288-member House) to form the government and not with empty hands,” he said, possibly a reference to Sena’s failed visit to Raj Bhavan a day earlier.

He termed the Sena’s stand against the BJP, despite the saffron allies winning a combined 161 seats in the October assembly polls, as unethical.

Attacking the prospects of the Congress-NCP joining hands with the Sena, Rane said, “The Congress is making a fool of the Shiv Sena. They (Congress) are not taking any decision (on support to Sena) in their meetings.”

Rane mocked the Sena by stating that “after being in politics for all these years, they (Sena) should understand how these Congress leaders are”.

“Congress leaders speak something in front of you, another thing behind you and something different in front of the press,” Rane claimed.

“They (Sena) should study all these things,” he said by way of advice to his former party. — PTI