Sena, BJP leaders to meet governor separately to 'extend Diwali greetings'

Amid the battle of one-upmanship over sharing of power in the next Maharashtra government, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Shiv Sena leader Diwakar Raote will meet Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari separately in Mumbai on Monday morning.

Leaders of both the parties, however, claimed they wanted to extend Diwali greetings to the governor, and denied that there would be any political discussion on the formation of the next government in the state.

"This is a festival of lights and Raote will meet Governor Koshyari to extend Diwali greetings on behalf of the Sena. There will be no political discussion," a senior leader of the Shiv Sena said.

Besides, a close aide of Fadnavis also told PTI that the chief minister will be meeting the governor to wish him for the Diwali festival. "Any political discussion is unlikely," he said.

As the BJP's tally went down in the state Assembly elections held last week compared with its 2014 performance, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray raised a pitch for "equal sharing" of power.

Thackeray reminded the BJP of the 50:50 formula "agreed upon" between himself, BJP president Amit Shah and Fadnavis ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

On Saturday, he demanded a written assurance from the BJP for implementing "equal formula for sharing of power" before holding talks on staking claim to form the next alliance government in the state.

In the just concluded state polls to the 288-member Assembly, the BJP won 105 seats, a loss of 17 seats compared with its 2014 tally.

The Shiv Sena's tally also came down to 56 seats from 63 in 2014.