The Shiv Sena refused to budge on its "50:50" demand.
The Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has invited the Shiv Sena to form government after the BJP said it will not stake claim. The BJP and Shiv Sena have been unable to resolve their disagreements over power-sharing in the state which has brought the three-decades old alliance between the two parties on edge. The Shiv Sena has put all its MLAs at a resort at Madh Island in suburban Mumbai. The party led by Uddhav Thackeray says it wants to stop any attempt by the BJP to poach its MLAs.
Here are the live updates on government formation in Maharashtra:
Shiv Sena Needs To Exit BJP-Led NDA: Sharad Pawar's Party
The Shiv Sena will have to break away from the BJP-led NDA before the NCP can think of lending support to the Uddhav Thackeray-led party for government formation, the opposition party's chief spokesperson Nawab Malik said on Sunday.
"Shiv Sena needs to first exit from the NDA as it has one cabinet post Unless it leaves the NDA, we will wait and watch the developments," Mr Malik was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
Governor Asks Shiv Sena To "Indicate Willingness And Ability" To Form Government
The Governor of Maharashtra Bhagat Singh Koshyari today asked the the Shiv Sena to indicate the willingness and ability to form the government in Maharashtra.
Congress Does Not Want President's Rule In Maharashtra: Ashok Chavan
Mandate Of People Was For The Shiv Sena-BJP Combine: Chandrakant Patil
"The mandate of the people was for the Shiv Sena-BJP combine. We cannot form the government on our own. If the Shiv Sena wants to insult the mandate of the people and form a government with the support of the NCP and Congress, they have our best wishes," Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil said.
Will Not Form Government In Maharashtra, Says BJP
"We cannot form the government now. By disobeying the mandate, Shiv Sena may want to reach out to Cong, NCP," Maharashtra BJP Chief Chandrakant Patil said.
Devendra Fadnavis To Meet Maharashtra Governor
Maharashtra's acting Chief Minister Caretaker Devendra Fadnavis is going to Raj Bhavan to meet the governor.
Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray also met his party MLAs at Mumbai resident as tussle with the BJP continues.
After nearly an hour long huddle this afternoon, BJP leaders are set to meet again this evening over government formation in the state.
Maharashtra Government Formation: Governor Should Invite NCP-Congress To Form Government, Says Milind Deora
"Maharashtra's Governor should invite NCP-Congress - the second largest alliance - to form the government now that BJP-Shiv Sena have refused to do so," Congress leader Milind Deora tweeted.
Maharashtra Government Formation: Welcome Congress To Form Stable Government, Says Sena
Days after NCP chief Sharad Pawar held talks with Sonia Gandhi amid BJP-Shiv Sena power tussle, Sena leader Sanjay Raut today said it welcomes Congress to form stable government in Maharastra. "Congress is not an enemy of state. If they want to form a government in Maharashtra, we welcome them," he said.
"Shiv Sena has always said that the single largest party must come forward and form a govt to stop this instability in the state," Sanjay Raut said this morning, a day after the Mahrashtra Governor invited the BJP to form government. "Traditionally, the single largest party goes up to the governor within 24 hours to form a government. But in this case it has been 15 days and we are happy that the governor has set this deadline for the BJP to form the govt, under our constitutional norms," he said.
"As our leader Uddhav Thackeray has said earlier, Shiv Sena will have its Chief Minister In the state, we are still certain on this," he said.
Speaking to the reporters, Sena leader Sanjay Raut today said that "if nobody forms government in Maharashtra", his party will form a strategy.
Maharashtra Government Formation: Sanjay Raut's "Hitler" Dig At Devendra Fadnavis
In a fresh attack on ally BJP, Sanjay Raut hit out at Maharashtra's caretaker chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and accused him of playing politics of fear, while making a reference to German dictator Adolf Hitler in the backdop of logjam over government formation in the state. Without naming Mr Fadnavis, Mr Raut, amid the ongoing war of words between the allies, said, "When ways of threatening and seeking political support don't work, it is time to accept that Hitler is dead and the looming clouds of slavery have disappeared."
Maharashtra Government Formation: Aaditya Thackeray Spends Night With MLAs At Mumbai Resort
Shiv Sena's Aaditya Thackeray spent night with his MLAs at Mud Island resort in Mumbai as power tussle with ally BJP continues.