Sena's Arvind Sawant loses front row seat in Lok Sabha after his resignation

As the winter session of the Parliament commenced on Monday, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi, said that former minister in the Modi cabinet and Shiv Sena leader Arvind Sawant has been allotted a seat in Opposition. He also said that the Shiv Sena will not be participating in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) meeting at the Parliament library building. 

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"Shiv Sena is not coming to the NDA meeting. Their minister Arvind Sawant has resigned. They're trying to work with Congress, so naturally, they've opted to sit in the opposition and we've agreed to that. We're allotting them a seat in opposition both in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha", Prahlad Joshi told reporters ahead of the meeting on Sunday.

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Arvind Sawant's resignation

Amid the power tussle in Maharashtra between BJP and Shiv Sena, its leader Arvind Sawant resigned from Modi cabinet on November 11. Calling himself a "true Shiv Sainik", he said that it is not moral or appropriate for him to continue at his post. "Our alliance in the state is dead and a new government is going to be formed. In such a situation, for me to continue in my post is not moral or appropriate. Hence, I have tendered my resignation to Prime Minister Modi", Sawant said.

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Political crisis in Maharashtra 

After the assembly elections, the Mahayuti alliance partners - BJP and Shiv Sena had a fallout over the chief minister's position in the state. Uddhav Thackray led Shiv Sena said that the chief minister's position should be equally divided between the parties as per the 50:50 formula. However, BJP leader and former CM Devendra Fadnavis denied any such formula.  Both parties are now eyeing to form the next government separately in Maharashtra -which is currently under President's rule. While the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress is still in talks to finalise the Common minimum programme to form an alliance, the BJP has vowed that it will form the next government. The Mahayuti alliance swept Maharashtra on October 24, winning a combined tally of 161 (BJP- 105, Sena -56).

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