BJP not to stake claim on Thursday: Mungantiwar

Maharashtra minister and senior BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar said his party would not stake claim on Thursday to form government in the state.

Ahead of the BJP delegation's meeting with Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Thursday, Mungantiwar told reporters here that the BJP was not in favour of forming a minority government in the state.

He also dubbed as "unfair" the talks that Shiv Sena MLAs may cross sides, amid the stalemate over government formation in the state.

"We will not stake claim to form government today. We want to have a detailed discussion with the governor on various legal intricacies related to running the current government," Mungantiwar said.

The BJP was of the opinion that people's mandate should be respected, the state finance minister said.

"The BJP is against forming a minority government in Maharashtra," he said.

Asked about Shiv Sena's insistence on sharing the chief minister's post, Mungantiwar said, "Fadnavis is not just a BJP leader, but he should be seen as Sena's chief minister as well. There should be no doubt about his leadership and acceptance across the party lines."