People of Maharashtra and Shiv Sainiks want Uddhav Thackeray as CM: Sanjay Raut

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Brushing aside reports that he is in the race for the Chief Minister's post in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said the people of Maharashtra and Shiv Sainik's want party Chief Uddhav Thackeray to become the Chief Minister of the state.

He was replying to a query that according to some reports NCP chief Sharad Pawar has suggested his name as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

"This is incorrect. The people of Maharashtra and Shiv Sainiks want Uddhav Thackeray to be the Chief Minister," said Raut addressing a press conference here on Friday.

"The Chief Minister will be from Shiv Sena and Sena's chief minister will be there for full 5 years," added Raut.

This comes at a time when NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena are holding hectic deliberations and talks and are inching closer towards government formation in Maharashtra.

Smaller allies of NCP-Congress will hold meetings with the leaders of the alliance today to work out final modalities and their role in the 'Maha Vikas Aghadi' (NCP-Congress-Shiv Sena) government in the state. The meeting which will take place at noon comes hours ahead of the NCP-Congress-Shiv Sena meeting scheduled at 4 pm today.

Maharashtra came under President's Rule on November 12 after all the parties failed to form a government in the state. The BJP, which emerged as the single largest party, could not stake claim to form a government as its ally Shiv Sena remained firm on rotating the Chief Minister's post and equal sharing of Cabinet berths.

Shiv Sena parted its ways with BJP to explore ways to form a government. It, however, failed to prove the support of the required number of MLAs in the time given by state Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.

The Governor had then invited NCP, the third-largest party, to prove its ability to form the government failing which President's Rule was imposed in the state.

The Shiv Sena is now in talks with the Congress and NCP to form a government in Maharashtra.

The BJP won 105 seats in the 288-member assembly followed by Shiv Sena 56, NCP 54 and Congress 44.