It takes time: Sanjay Raut on Maharashtra govt formation

Responding to his claim that a new government will be in place in Maharashtra by December first week, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Tuesday said a lot of processes need to be followed to do away with President's Rule.

"It takes time to form a government. You need to go through a lot of processes when it comes to the President's Rule," Raut said when asked about his deadline about the government formation.

On Monday, the Shiv Sena leader reportedly said that his party will form a coalition government by the first week of December in Maharashtra.

Raut's comment comes amid Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Shiv Sena's efforts to come to an agreement to form the government in the state. The three parties have prepared a draft common minimum program (CMP) which is awaiting approval of the senior leadership of the three parties.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar met Congress president Sonia Gandhi at her residence in New Delhi on Monday. Speaking to reporters later, Pawar, however, said he did not discuss anything about the government formation during his meeting and only briefed her about the current political situation in the state.

Maharashtra came under the President's Rule on November 9 after Shiv Sena and BJP alliance fell through over power-sharing in the new government.

The BJP emerged as the single-largest party in Maharashtra assembly polls with 105 seats. While Shiv Sena bagged 56 seats, NCP and Congress have 54 and 44 MLAs respectively in the state assembly.