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Maharashtra: Arvind Sawant Resigns From Modi Cabinet As Shiv Sena Looks To Form Govt

Sawant said the BJP has gone back on the “50:50 power sharing formula” with the Shiv Sena.

As Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray meets NCP President Sharad Pawar over government formation in Maharashtra, Sena MP Arvind Sawant said he has sent his resignation as the Union Heavy Industries and Public Enterprise Minister to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Addressing a press conference on Monday, Sawant said the BJP has gone back on the “50:50 power sharing formula” with the Shiv Sena and it would not be right for him to continue in his post.

The Sena’s lone minister in the Modi Cabinet had announced on Monday morning that he will resign as Union minister.

Shiv Sena and BJP have disagreed on the “50:50 power sharing formula” that Uddhav Thackeray insists Amit Shah agreed to before the Lok Sabha polls. He said the formula includes the post of the chief minister. The BJP, has however, declined that any such deal was made.

The Sena decided to quit the NDA on Monday with party spokesperson Sanjay Raut saying “the entire blame lies with the BJP, not us”.

The party, as Huffpost India’s Pavan Dahat pointed out, is hoping to align with Nationalist Congress Party led by Sharad Pawar and get outside support from the Congress.

NCP leader Nawab Malik on Monday said it is the responsibility of “all of us” to give an alternative, but added that the NCP will take any decision in consensus with its ally Congress.

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said the party has called a meeting at 4 pm on Monday to take a call on extending support to the Shiv Sena.

The NCP said it would wait for Congress to make its decision before taking a call on allying with the Sena.

Raut said, earlier in the day, that Pawar and all Congress leaders in the state think the government should be formed with a common minimum programme.

Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Sunday invited the Shiv Sena to form a government in the state a day after BJP declined the offer.

(With PTI inputs)

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.