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Sena-Congress-NCP alliance ‘opportunistic, won’t last beyond 6-8 mths’: Nitin Gadkari

Gadkari said the alliance forged by these ‘ideologically different’ parties was just to keep the BJP out of power, which was unfortunate.

Sena-Congress-NCP alliance ‘opportunistic, won’t last beyond 6-8 mths’: Nitin Gadkari

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. (File Photo: IANS)

Amid the new alliance formation and new power sharing formula emerging in Maharashtra with the Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP coming together after elections, former ally BJP termed the alliance among the three parties as opportunistic. Senior BJP leader and Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday, said even if they formed the government in Maharashtra, it will not last beyond six to eight months.

During election campaigning in Jharkhand, Gadkari said the alliance forged by these “ideologically different” parties was just to keep the BJP out of power, which was unfortunate. The state is going to five-phased polls from November 30.

In an interview to new agency PTI in Ranchi, he said, “Opportunism is the base of their alliance. The three parties have become united with the only motto to keep the BJP out of power. I have doubts whether this government will be formed… Even if it is formed, it will not last beyond six to eight months.”

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Asked if the BJP will try forming the government in case the alliance breaks, the minister said in case of such circumstances, the party will decide its future course of strategy.

The base of Shiv Sena and the BJP alliance was “Hindutva”, he said. Gadkari said Shiv Sena’s claim that the chief minister would be on a rotational basis was found untrue when he enquired.

“As per party President and others, the party’s stance on chief minister was to be decided later but things took an unfortunate turn, Gadkari said.

The chief minister should be from the party which got a higher mandate, he said adding that the decision as to who will be the chief minister lies with Maharashtra party president, state chief minister and the BJP president.
“We did our efforts,” Gadkari said.

As the meetings between the Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP continue to come up with a power sharing formula for government formation in Maharashtra, a consensus has emerged on Sena President Uddhav Thackeray’s name for the post of Chief Minister, according to reports.

While, the Sena legislators met this morning and “unanimously authorized” Thackeray to take any decision on the question of CM, the NCP and Congress too agree on Thackeray’s name for the Chief Minister’s post, according to reports.

The three soon to be allies, Sena, NCP and Congress leaders are scheduled to meet again at around 4 pm and the meet  would be decisive on the question of government formation.

Sources told news agency IANS that if all goes well, they could stake their claim to form the government before Governor BS Koshyari even today, though the final call will be taken at the evening meeting.

(With PTI inputs)

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