Fadnavis foresees 'BJP to form Govt on its own in Maharashtra', affirms strength of party

Speaking to the media on Monday, former Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis exuded confidence in BJP forming the government on its own in the State. On this occasion, Shiv Sena leader and former MLA Balasaheb Sanap joined BJP at the Maharashtra BJP office in Mumbai. In a veiled reference to Maharashtra Minister Jayant Patil's assertion that 10 BJP legislators could join NCP, Fadnavis opined that some parties were spreading such rumours to hide the uneasiness of MLAs within their fold. 

Maintaining that BJP is united, Fadnavis mentioned that even the leaders who have shifted their allegiance to his party are aware that the MVA government will only last for a limited time period. Moreover, he called upon party workers to take the opportunity of the vacuum created by Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena coming together. To buttress his point, the Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly recalled that BJP had emerged the single-largest party in States where it was pushed to the corner by Congress and other parties in a similar manner. 

Ex-Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis remarked, "We have to strengthen the party. In the coming period, many people are going to join BJP. Some people spread rumours every day that BJP MLAs will join us. They know that no one will join them. But there is a lot of uneasiness in their parties and there is a fear as to what will their disgruntled legislators do."

He added, "BJP MLAs are united. Especially, the MLAs who came to BJP from other parties are even more politically astute. They have seen a lot of politics. They know that the future of the country is not Rahul Gandhi. This country's present, as well as future, is Narendra Modi. They know the amount of time a government which has been formed by deceit will last." 

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"Look at the country's history. Whenever BJP was cornered in such a manner, BJP kept on strengthening. It strengthened so much that it formed the government on its own in many states. This happened in Karnataka, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. In all these States, when Congress and a third party came together to crush BJP, the saffron party became the single-largest party there. These three parties have given us the opportunity. We have to take cognizance of this opportunity to grow on our own," the BJP leader elaborated. 

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Government formation in Maharashtra

Despite winning a comfortable majority of its own in the 2019 Assembly election, NDA could not form the government in 2019 over Shiv Sena's demand for the rotational CM post. After the imposition of the President's Rule in the State, BJP took a surprising step of joining hands with NCP's Ajit Pawar, who had reportedly promised the support of other legislators. However, the new Fadnavis-led government had to resign ahead of the SC-mandated floor test owing to the paucity of numbers. Subsequently, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray took oath as the CM of Maharashtra backed by new allies NCP and Congress on November 28, 2019. 

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