NEW DELHI: Amid hectic parleys over government formation in Maharashtra, following the bitter falling out between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena in the wake of the Assembly poll verdict, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday.
While Pawar was said to have taken up the issue of farmers’ distress in the state with the PM, the BJP continued to keep a close watch on the political developments in the state.
Sources said that the BJP chief and Union Minister of home affairs Amit Shah also joined Modi and Shah during the meeting.
The BJP, after telling Maharashtra Governor BC Koshyari that the party is not in a position to form a government, continues to maintain a stoic silence on emerging political situations.
The BJP, sources said, is keen to see the internal contradictions in the prospective post-poll alliance among the Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP play out.
“The last act in fluid Maharashtra politics has not yet taken place. Legislators of three parties have an obvious conflict of interests and are desperate to join hands to protect their individual turfs in the state,” a senior BJP functionary said.
The BJP chief has, incidentally, instructed party leaders not to comment publicly on the political situations in the state.
“The post-poll political developments are full of consequences, which will impact each party in the state on the basis of the choices they make. The BJP is keeping its long-term interests at the core of its strategy to respond to any political development in the state,” another BJP functionary said.
The change in sitting arrangements of Sena MPs in both the Houses of Parliament has seemingly formalised the exit of the Uddhav Thackeray-led outfit from the NDA. The BJP has also not commented on the utterances of Sena leaders.