BJP: Will continue to woo Shiv Sena

Nineteen days after results were announced Maharashtra went under Presidents rule on Tuesday after the governor was convinced no party can muster a simple majority of 145 in the 288member AssemblyThe developments came with a notsosubtle nudge from the NCP which as early as 1130 am told the governor it did not have the strength to form government clearing the path for Bhagat Singh Koshyari to recommend central administrationShiv Sena moved the Supreme Court against the governors denial of extension of deadline for confirming its claim to form government But midday has reliably learned that that the BJP also sought for extra time but was refused just like the Sena and NCP wereWe met the governor and asked for extension which was refused No other party should cry foul In fact the other parties had more time available than us because we were the first to be called in They must have started working on cobbling up numbers the minute we were invited said a former BJP ministerThe state is expected to submit the above stand in the Supreme Court today weakening the Senas argument It will also be interesting to see what the other respondents in Senas petition the NCP and Congress tell the court under oath when asked whether they had pledged support before or after the Sena filed the caseDay full of dramaTuesday witnessed a series of events behind the scenes before Presidents rule came into effect It was all much to the chagrin of the Shiv Sena which quit the NDA in a bid to install its third CM but returned redfaced on Monday evening from the Raj BhavanThe fiasco was blamed on the Congress and the NCP who denied any wrongdoing saying the Sena contacted them officially on Monday and hence they couldnt decide on support before time ran outAs the Congress delayed its response the NCP which was asked to show its willingness to form government told the governor much before the 830pm deadline that it wouldnt be able to show the adequate strength It also asked Koshyari for three more days to gather support lettersThe Raj Bhavan refused extension and by early afternoon had the recommendation mailed to the Union government which convened a Cabinet meeting for drafting a proposal to be sent to President Ramnath Kovind The President endorsed the recommendation early eveningIn public all nonBJP parties said the imposition of Presidents rule had violated the Supreme Court guidelines But the behaviour of the Congress and NCP did seem to hint that they wanted the current scenario to emerge to boost their bargaining powerIn any case Tuesdays developments in the CongressNCPs Democratic Front indicated they were better prepared to meet any curve balls that came their way It also kept the Sena in the game even though the DF allies said they hadnt decided on extending support to the Sena because they were still discussing the issue between them and most importantly the Sena had asked for their support only on the day it met the governorSenior Congress leaders led by Ahmed Patel flew to Mumbai to confer with NCP boss Sharad PawarThe meeting happened despite the state level leaders of the two parties accusing each other of delaying the declaration on Monday Patel deftly shifted the blame to the Sena saying the alliance partners were officially asked for support only on November 11 Monday Pawar said the partners will discuss all alternatives and only then talk with SenaNeed stable govtFormer chief minister Devendra Fadnavis told midday that Presidents rule was unfortunate for the state which had voted for a second term to the BJPSena prepoll alliance I expect all parties to consider the state of affairs in Maharashtra and give a stable government he saidLater in the evening BJP MP and exCM Narayan Rane who was earlier associated with the Sena muddled the plot He said he will try his best to garner support for his party in days to come Did he mean getting the Senas or other parties MLAs to defect to the BJP He refused to answerUddhav confidentSena president Uddhav Thackeray told his MLAs at a luxury hotel in Malad that he will definitely make his CM Later he endorsed the Congress and NCPs information that they started talking only on Monday Thanks to the governor who gave us six months to decide on the pact of ideologically different parties he said apparently assuming that Presidents rule will be in force at least for six monthsThe promulgation of the constitutional provision doesnt have any cap Parties that gather adequate strength in the House can approach the governor any time and request him to recommend the lifting of the ruleOn the other side the BJPs efforts to get the Sena back into the fold havent stopped yet The party said it will use the cooling off period to resume talks with the Sena A top BJP leader told midday on a condition of anonymity that they will work on patching up with the Sena while the governor runs the stateWe are hopeful that the Centres rule doesnt drag for long because the MLAs are rendered redundant as they havent been administered oath The elected representatives will be devoid of constitutional powers and perks like salary allowances and facilities that help in getting the welfare works done expeditiously he saidCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates