Amid power sharing tussle with Shiv Sena, Maharashtra CM Fadnavis meets Governor

Devendra Fadnavis

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis met Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari here on Monday morning, amid the ongoing tussle between the BJP and Shiv Sena over sharing of power in the next state government.

A Raj Bhawan official told PTI that it was a "courtesy call".

Shiv Sena leader Diwakar Raote is also slated to meet the governor on Monday.

Earlier, both the parties claimed they wanted to extend Diwali greetings to the governor, and denied that there would be any political discussion on the formation of next government in the state.

As the BJP's tally went down in the state Assembly elections held last week compared to its 2014 performance, its ally Shiv Sena raised a pitch for "equal sharing" of power.

Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray reminded the BJP of the 50:50 formula "agreed upon" between himself, BJP president Amit Shah and Fadnavis ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

On Saturday, he demanded a written assurance from the BJP for implementing "equal formula for sharing of power" before holding talks on staking the claim to form the next alliance government in the state.

In the just concluded state polls to 288-member Assembly, the BJP won 105 seats, a loss of 17 seats compared to its 2014 tally.

The Sena's tally also came down to 56 seats from 63 in 2014.