'We are not responsible for stalemate,' says Shiv Sena as Maha power tussle continues

Amid the ongoing tussle between the Bharatiya Janata Party and its ally Shiv Sena over sharing of power continues in Maharashtra, the Uddhav Thackeray's party met Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Monday. Though the party termed it a “non-political courtesy visit”, the meeting assumes significance as the deadline for government formation is just five days away.

Talking to reporters after meeting the governor, senior Sena leader Sanjay Raut said his party was not responsible for the current stalemate in the state. “We just wanted to tell him (the governor) that the government is not being formed, and for ensuing confusion, we are not responsible," he said. Maharashtra minister Ramdas Kadam was also part of the Sena delegation that met Koshyari.

Earlier, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis met BJP president and Union home minister Amit Shah in Delhi and said there was a need to form government in Maharashtra at the earliest. He later met BJP general secretary Bhupendra Yadav who was in-charge of elections in Maharashtra.

However, officially Fadnavis met Shah to seek more help from the centre for a package for Maharashtra's farmers whose crops have been affected by unseasonal rains

The saffron allies are caught in a stalemate over the chief minister's post soon after the results of the assembly elections were out on October 24, with the national party failing to reach the halfway mark on its own and the Shiv Sena demanding for an equal division of power.

In the polls to the 288-member assembly, the BJP won 105 seats, a loss of 17 seats compared to 2014, while the Sena's tally also came down to 56 seats from 63. The NCP won 54 and the Congress bagged 44 seats.

The term of the existing 13th state Assembly ends on November 9.