'Never known as astrologer': Pawar takes jibe at Raosaheb Danve over govt formation claim

NCP supremo Sharad Pawar on Tuesday took a dig at Union Minister Raosaheb Patil Danve over the latter's assertion that BJP will form the government in Maharashtra in the next two-three months. Campaigning for the Legislative Council election in Parbhani on Monday, Danve claimed that his Party has figured out the modalities for government formation and is waiting for the ongoing polls to the Legislative Council to get over. Responding to the MoS Consumer Affairs, Pawar maintained that the Maha Vikas Aghadi government enjoyed the support of the common person in the state.

According to the Rajya Sabha MP, Danve's statement was an indication of the depression and anger of the Opposition as it has realized that it cannot wrest power in Maharashtra. At the same time, he lamented that such a seasoned leader had made such remarks. In a lighter vein, the NCP chief said that Danve had mastered the 'talent of astrology'. 

NCP supremo Sharad Pawar remarked, "The Aghadi government in Maharashtra is getting the support of the common person. The depression on the other side is clearly on display. The uneasiness and anger over the fact that they are not getting power has come to the fore."

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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. Recently, a meeting between Sena MP Sanjay Raut and Fadnavis set the rumour mills buzzing. However, both leaders insisted that their interaction which lasted for at least 2 hours was focused only on the modalities for the Saamana interview.

In his address to the Maharashtra BJP Executive meeting on October 8, BJP president JP Nadda predicted that Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress will be permanently relegated to the opposition in the near future. Lauding the leadership of former Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, Nadda contended that there was total confusion in the functioning of the Uddhav Thackeray-led government. Nadda maintained that the mandate of the people was with BJP, which could win a majority on its own. 

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