Shiv Sena MLAs meet in Mumbai, root for Aaditya Thackeray as next Maharashtra CM
Mumbai: Taking cue from Uddhav Thackeray's renewed assertion for equal sharing of power with the BJP, which failed to register desired performance in the Maharashtra assembly polls, newly-elected MLAs of Shiv Sena on Saturday demanded that Aaditya Thackeray be made the chief minister in the next government.
The results of recently-concluded polls saw the ruling BJP losing 17 seats from its previous tally of 122, a development that political observers believe has increased the bargaining power of the Uddhav Thackeray-led party whose tally too came down to 56 seats from the 63 in 2014.
"We want to see Aaditya Thackeray as the next chief minister. But Uddhavji will take the final decision," said Pratap Sarnaik, MLA from neighbouring Thane city.
He was responding to a question on whether Sena will seek the help of the Congress-NCP combine to install its own chief minister in place of incumbent Devendra Fadnavis of the BJP.
Sarnaik and other elected MLAs on Saturday assembled at 'Matoshree', the suburban residence of the Thackerays, to attend a party meeting.
Another MLA Abdul Sattar, who defected to the Sena from the Congress ahead of polls, also endorsed Sarnaik's view. "Uddhavji will take the final call on this," said Sattar, once considered a close aide of former chief minister Ashok Chavan. In the elections, results for which were announced on October 24, the BJP won 105 seats and the Sena 56 while the NCP and the Congress bagged 54 and 44 seats, respectively.
The verdict came as a shocker for the BJP which had set itself a higher target to secure the absolute majority on its own. The changed scenario has emboldened the Sena which knows well that it is in a position to call shots and endorse Aaditya as the CM face.
Aaditya, 29, became the first Thackeray since the party was founded in 1960s to enter the poll fray and win. He won from Worli seat in Mumbai, a Sena pocketborough.
On the day of verdict, Thackeray hardened the Sena's stand by reminding the BJP of the 50:50 formula "agreed upon" between BJP president Amit Shah, Thackeray and Fadnavis ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. According to sources, the formula entails rotational chief ministership between the Sena and the BJP and the equal sharing of Cabinet berths.
"I contested less number of seats for Lok Sabha and assembly elections. I cannot accommodate the BJP everytime. I want to remind the BJP the formula which was worked out in the presence of Amit Shah," Thackeray had said.
The speculation about an "interesting possibility" started doing rounds on the day of the poll verdict when former chief ministers Ashok Chavan and Prithivraj Chavan of the Congress said the party should consider all options to keep the BJP out of power.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar had ruled out such a possibility to back the Sena. Thackeray had said the popular mandate to rule was given to the BJP and his party.
State Congress president Balasaheb Thorat too ruled out any truck with the Sena to keep the BJP at bay. However, he cryptically said that if the Sena comes with a proposal, the Congress will seek advice of its high-command.
The Sena has been rooting for Aaditya as the next chief minister or deputy chief minister of the state.
However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who also holds the BJP chief's post, have repeatedly said that Fadnavis will continue to be at the helm.
On Friday, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut posted a cartoon to take a dig at the BJP.
The cartoon, posted by Raut on his verified Twitter account, shows a tiger (Shiv Sena emblem) wearing a clock locket (NCP's poll symbol) sniffing a lotus (BJP's poll symbol).
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Emotional tributes paid to cops killed in blast at gunpowder dump of Maoists in Chhattisgarh
Narayanpur (Chhattisgarh) (PTI): Emotional scenes were witnessed on Sunday as wreaths were laid on the mortal remains of three of the four police personnel killed in an explosion in a gunpowder dump of Maoists in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district.
The grieving family members were inconsolable, while security personnel tried to comfort them.
Amid chants of "Bharat Mata ki Jai" and "Vande Mataram," public representatives, along with senior police and administrative officials, paid tributes to the deceased personnel.
The wreath-laying ceremony to pay homage to Inspector Sukhram Vatti (40), constables Krishna Komra (35) and Sanjay Gadhpale (29), killed in the explosion on Saturday, was held at the Police Lines in Narayanpur district, neighbouring Kanker.
The mortal remains of constable Parmanand Komra (29), who succumbed to injuries during treatment in Raipur, will be shifted to Kanker, where a separate wreath-laying ceremony will be held, police said.
Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range, Sundarraj Pattilingam, after paying homage, told reporters that the four police personnel made the supreme sacrifice while protecting the region.
"I pay my homage to them," he added.
The four personnel were killed while they were attempting to dispose of a gunpowder dump hidden earlier by Maoists in a forest near Aadnar village under Chhotebethiya police station limits in Kanker district, according to police.
It was the first explosion linked to Naxalites in the state since it was declared free from armed Maoists on March 31, and also the first instance this year in which security personnel engaged in anti-Naxal operations lost their lives.
District Reserve Guard (DRG) official Vatti, who was leading the team, hailed from Bijapur district. Constable Krishna Komra of the district force and constables Gadhpale and Parmanand Komra of the Bastar Fighters were residents of different villages in Kanker.
