Mumbai: After BJP declined the offer, Governor of Maharashtra Shri Bhagat Singh Koshyari today asked the leader of the second largest party elected, the Shiv Sena “to indicate the willingness and ability” to form the government.
 
The political crisis in Maharashtra only deepened further ever since the Legislative Assembly elections were held on October 21 and the results were declared on October 24. It’s 15 days now and no single party or alliance of parties has come forward to form the government.
 
On November 9, former CM and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis was invited to “express his willingness and ability” to form the government. However, today, he declined.
 
Soon after, the Governor reached out to Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde to convey the party’s ability to form the government.

The MLAs of Shiv Sena will be holed up in a meeting at 9.30 am tomorrow at Hotel Retreat in Mumbai where they are lodged. Political sources suggest that Shiv Sena, NCP and the Congress are in talks drawing up a power-sharing formula with Aaditya Thackeray as the CM, NCP getting the DyCM post and Congress bagging the Speaker’s.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra BJP core committee meeting will be held at 11 AM at former chief minister's residence.

The BJP won 105 seats while the Shiv Sena bagged 56 seats in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly. Shiv Sena insisted that the two parties had a '50-50' power-sharing agreement before the elections. Former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the Shiv Sena was not promised the chief ministerial post for two-and-a-half years when the alliance was sealed before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The tussle over the chief minister seat between the Sena and the BJP has led to political instability in Maharashtra since then. 

The Congress (44) and NCP (54) are well short of the 145-mark to form the government on their own.