Raut meets governor, says Sena not hindering govt formation

The Shiv Sena is not creating any hurdles in formation of a government in Maharashtra, senior party leader Sanjay Raut said on Monday after meeting the governor as the state's political stalemate saw no sign of resolution nearly two weeks after assembly poll results. Whoever enjoys majority should be allowed to form government, said Raut, who has been at the forefront of vociferously articulating the Sena's demand for equal distribution of power and sharing the chief minister's post.

The Rajya Sabha MP, accompanied by party colleague and Maharashtra minister Ramdas Kadam, met Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari in the evening at the Raj Bhavan here. "We had a discussion with Governor Koshyari on a wide range of issues, including political. We learned a lot about him, especially his deep understanding of the state's political developments," Raut told reporters outside the Raj Bhavan in south Mumbai.

"We informed the governor that the Shiv Sena is not responsible for the current political situation in the state over formation of new government," he told reporters outside the Raj Bhavan in south Mumbai. Raut, who is also executive editor of Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana', said his party is not creating any hurdles in formation of the new government in Maharashtra, where assembly election results were announced on October 24.

"We held the discussion keeping in mind the governor's constitutional rights and powers. The governor heard us patiently. We put forth our point of view," Raut said. "The governor informed us that there is some time for government formation in Maharashtra. The governor told that any political party (which commands majority) can come forward and stake claim (to form government)," Raut said.

The term of the existing Maharashtra legislative assembly expires on November 9. "We agree that the governor is functioning within the framework of the Constitution," said the Rajya Sabha member.

Raut and Kadam met Koshyari at 5 pm, a Raj Bhavan official said. They also gifted a couple of books on Shiv Sena founder the late Bal Thackeray as well as photo features of party chief Uddhav Thackeray to Koshyari.

The meeting came at a time when the BJP and the Shiv Sena are locked in a bitter tug-of-war over the latter's demand for equal distribution of portfolios and sharing the chief minister's post. The BJP has rejected the Sena's demand for sharing the chief minister's post for 2.5 years each. In the October 21 polls to the 288-member assembly, the BJP won 105 seats followed by the Shiv Sena 56, the NCP 54 and the Congress 44. The majority mark in the house is 145.

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