Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress is alliance of opportunism, won't give Maharashtra stable govt: Gadkari

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said that the probable alliance of the Shiv Sena, Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is an alliance of opportunism and it will not be able to give Maharashtra a stable government.

On being asked about government formation in Maharashtra, Gadkari told ANI, "There are ideological differences among NCP and Shiv Sena. This alliance in Maharashtra is not established on the basis of ideas and principles. This(Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress) is an alliance of opportunism, they will not be able to give Maharashtra a stable Government.

"This would result in a huge loss for Maharashtra. An unstable government would not be a good thing for the state. BJP and Shiv Sena alliance was based on the ideology of Hindutva and even today we don't have many ideological differences. Breaking of such an alliance is not only a loss to the country but also to Hindutva cause and to Maharashtra," he added.

Gadkari further asserted that Congress strongly opposes the views of Shiv Sena and its vice versa. There are ideological differences between the three parties.

Meanwhile, a Congress Legislative party meet is underway at Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai.Earlier NCP and Congress leaders met with leaders of other allies to hold discussions over the political situation of the state.

The NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena are holding hectic deliberations on the government formation in Maharashtra.

A meeting of NCP-Congress-Shiv Sena meeting is 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. (ANI)

On being asked about the upcoming Jharkhand assembly polls, Gadkari said, "Keeping in mind the work government has done in Jharkhand under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the stable govt that Chief Minister Raghubar Das has given to the state, I believe people of Jharkhand will ensure our victory under CM Raghubar Das' leadership for the second innings."

Jharkhand will go to polls in five phases. The first phase of polling will be held on November 30, the second phase on December 6, the third phase on December 12, the fourth phase on December 16 and the last phase on December 20. The results will be declared on December 23.

The Congress has forged an alliance with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in the state to defeat the incumbent BJP.

In 2014, the BJP, which won 43 seats, formed the government along with All Jharkhand Students' Union (AJSU), which had won 5 seats under the leadership of Raghubar Das.