Showing signs of being nowhere close to an understanding with ally BJP, Shiv Sena once again reiterated that the next chief minister of Maharashtra will be from the party.

Vocal Sena MP, Sanjay Raut on Thursday said: “The Chief Minister will be from Shiv Sena”. However, he has not spelt out how it will be achieved.

Raut, who claims the support of 175 MLAs, repeated his challenge to the BJP to stake a claim to the government and produce 145 signatures of support – the simple majority mark in the 288-member Assembly.

The BJP’s incumbent Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is also adamant on the top post compelling the party to consider options, with the mantle likely to fall on Union minister Nitin Gadkari.

Gadkari enjoys a good rapport with Sena President Uddhav Thackeray and earlier his father, the party’s founder, the late Bal Thackeray, and several Sena ministers, many of them were his cabinet colleagues in the erstwhile Sena-BJP government of 1995-1999.

Raut also brushed off alleged reports of Shiv Sena shifting its MLAs to a resort amid the political standoff in the state.

“There is no need for us to do this, our MLAs are firm in their resolve and committed to the party. Those who are spreading such rumours should worry about their MLAs first,” he told ANI.

Meanwhile, Gadkari has reportedly cancelled all his appointments and will fly to Nagpur on Thursday to meet Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat.

The Sena and the BJP are locked in a tussle since the Uddhav Thackeray-led party raised demand for the chief minister’s post on a rotational basis and implementation of a “50:50 power-sharing” formula, which entails equal allocation of ministerial portfolios.

The BJP has rejected both the demands, which resulted in the formal power talks, which are yet to take off, hitting a wall.

The RSS has apparently put out a roadmap to install Gadkari as the new CM of the state, say sources. This could give a window to Shiv Sena to scale down its demand of chief ministership on a rotation basis.

Meanwhile, BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar on Thursday said that the BJP wishes to “run a strong and stable government in alliance with the Shiv Sena”.

On being asked if the BJP will stake claim to form a minority government, Mungantiwar said that the party has no such plans as of now.