Confident of BJP-Shiv Sena settlement, no question of me becoming Maharashtra CM: Nitin Gadkari

Mumbai: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday put to rest all speculations of a split in the alliance between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiv Sena over the government formation in Maharashtra, and said that he is confident that both parties will come along soon.

“Usually, the CM is chosen from the party that has the maximum number of Vidhan Sabha seats. Mohan Bhagwat ji and the RSS have nothing to do with this and it is not right to link them with this also. As far as the decision for this goes, we are in talks with the Shiv Sena and are confident of an amicable settlement in this matter,” Gadkari told reporters.

When asked if it was true that he could become the next chief minister of Maharashtra, the Union minister turned said, “I am in Delhi... There is no question of me coming to Maharashtra.”

Gadkari’s statement came at a time Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut has been maintaining that his party will not budge from the 50:50 power-sharing formula. Raut said Sena supremo Uddhav



Thackeray has not got any proposal from the BJP yet as far as government formation is concerned.

“It is good that the BJP is meeting the Governor. The single-largest party must stake claim and we welcome if they stake claim. If the BJP stakes claim, they must prove majority on the floor of the house. We wish them the best,” Raut said referring to the BJP delegation’s meeting with Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to stake claim to form the government.

Meanwhile, senior BJP leader and Maharashtra Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar today claimed that the BJP is not favouring a minority government. It is to be noted here that Mungantiwar is the one who sparked the debate over President’s rule in Maharashtra if the government wasn’t formed by November 8, the day the ongoing Assembly term ends.

“We want to run a strong and stable government, we wish to form the government with Shiv Sena. Uddhav ji had himself said earlier that Devendra Fadnavis ji is also a Shiv Sainik,” Mungantiwar said today.