NEW DELHI: With the Shiv Sena tapping the NCP to explore options on government formation, the BJP top brass has decided not to bend to what it sees as political blackmail.
Since NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar is expected to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday, the BJP will be keenly watching its outcome.
“We are watching the situation closely. The top leadership has told incumbent Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis that the post of the chief minister will not be on the table whenever talks with the Shiv Sena take place,” a top BJP functionary told this newspaper.
Having drawn the red line, Fadnavis has little options other than waiting for the Sena to blink. Going ahead and forming a minority government appears to be the top choice currently among the BJP brass.
While the Sena hopes to draw Amit Shah to broker a deal, the BJP chief continues to stay away from making any direct intervention to resolve the fluid situation.
The BJP appears to be waiting for Uddhav Thackeray to exhaust all options with other parties. “The BJP has the option to form a minority government. Political lines would then become clear on the floor of the House. If the BJP government is voted out, the option to impose President’s Rule could be considered. The BJP wouldn’t mind a snap poll in the state as well,” opined the BJP functionary.
“Though nothing is impossible in politics, the BJP would be keenly watching the Congress response to the Sena-NCP attempts to explore alternatives. If that indeed materialises, the BJP would be flog it for long term gains in the state and beyond,” said another senior BJP functionary. But since the Sena and the Congress are polar oppsites ideologically, the BJP feels their coming together would be realistically impossible.