Ball in Shiv Sena's court on govt formation in Maharashtra: BJP sources

As the suspense over government formation in Maharashtra continued, BJP sources on Monday said the party would wait and watch how the situation pans out in the next few days as the ball was now in its ally Shiv Sena's court.

BJP leader and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who held a series of meeting with the party's national leaders, including president Amit Shah, in the national capital, said the government needed to be formed at the earliest while expressing confidence that it would be formed.

In a tweet later, Fadnavis, however, said he met Shah to seek more assistance from the Centre for farmers affected by unseasonal rains and submitted a detailed report on it.

"Also requested for one meeting to be called by the Centre with the insurance companies to relax norms and give maximum assistance to farmers. Honourable Union Home Minister AmitShah ji immediately asked the concerned officials to schedule this meeting," he said.

Fadnavis later met Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and the party's poll in-charge for the state Bhupender Yadav, where he sat for more than an hour.

The party stood by its end of alliance and always worked in the spirit of collation dharma, the sources said, adding that as far as government formation in Maharashtra was concerned the ball was in the Shiv Sena's court.

The BJP will prefer wait and watch how the situation evolves in the next few days., the sources said.

From the last few days, a tussle is going on between the BJP and its ally Shiv Sena over government formation in the state. Shiv Sena leaders are also in touch with NCP supremo Sharad Pawar. The NCP contested the election in alliance with the Congress.

Unlike the last assembly elections, the BJP and the Shiv Sena this time fought elections in alliance with each other. The BJP won 105 seats and the Shiv Sena 56.

The two parties are caught in a stalemate over the chief minister's post, with the Sena demanding an equal division of the top post's tenure and the BJP rejecting it.