BJP formed govts in K'taka, Goa, Manipur despite numbers not in their favour: Gehlot

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said on Friday that BJP has formed governments in states like Karnataka, Manipur and Goa despite the numbers not being in their favour.

He said that the results of the Maharashtra and Haryana assembly elections are a setback to the party.

Asked to comment on the impasse over government formation in Maharashtra, Gehlot told reporters here, "BJP must have made false promises. They made governments in Manipur, Goa and Karnataka and Goa. But the majority number (of forming the government) was with the opposition. Maharashtra and Haryana election results have given them setback and they will now be exposed."

Gehlot's comments come as BJP and Shiv Sena are struggling to form a government in Maharashtra even after the results of assembly polls was declared two weeks ago.

The BJP and Shiv Sena, who are partners in the ruling alliance in Maharashtra, had fought the assembly polls together. While the BJP emerged as the single largest party in the recently held elections, it is yet to stake a claim for government formation.

The BJP won 105 seats while Shiv Sena bagged 56 seats in the 288-member state assembly. Even after getting the required numbers to form the government, there has been a delay in cobbling up a coalition due to power-sharing differences between the two parties.

In Haryana, BJP fell short of the majority mark in the 90-member assembly, bagging 40 seats. It, however, took the support of the Dushyant Chautala-led Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), which won 10 seats, and seven Independents and formed the government in the state.