BJP too has options open before it: Mungantiwar on Maharashtra govt formation

Amid a tussle between allies Shiv Sena and BJP over sharing of power in Maharashtra, BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar on Tuesday said the Assembly election mandate was for "Mahayuti" or grand alliance and asserted that his party too had various options open before it to form the government. Playing hardball, the Shiv Sena has demanded a written assurance from its ally BJP that it will implement the formula for equal sharing of power in Maharashtra and said that it will otherwise explore other options.

Reacting to the Shiv Sena stand, Mungantiwar said the question is not about who has how much support. The mandate is for the "Mahayuti" of BJP, Shiv Sena and other smaller parties, the outgoing Maharashtra finance minister said. "BJP and JJP's Dushyant Chautala did not contest the election in the alliance. The alliance means engagement and such kind of statements only reflect 'vinashkalin viprit buddhi' (As doom approaches, one's intellect works against his/her best interest).

"If they have options open, does BJP do not have options? Even BJP has options open. If many hands are coming towards Shiv Sena, likewise many people are coming forward to support BJP also," Mungantiwar told a private TV channel. The BJP and the Sena, which won 105 and 56 seats, respectively, in the just-concluded state Assembly polls, are locked in a bitter battle over the sharing of power.

In Haryana, the BJP has formed a government with the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) of Dushyant Chautala, after it fell short of a majority.

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