Maharashtra CM post: Amid deadlock with BJP, Raut stresses Sena's claim

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said on Saturday that his party's demand for Maharashtra chief minister's post was valid, and the basis for power sharing with the BJP must be the pre-poll agreement and not the number of seats won.

Raut, executive editor of the Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana, has been the most vocal among Sena leaders in pressing his party's claim on the top post.

The political impasse in the state continues after Assembly election results were announced on October 24, with the victorious allies BJP and Shiv Sena bickering.

"Government has to be formed as per what was agreed on (between the BJP and Shiv Sena before the polls) and not on the basis of which is the single largest party," Raut told a news channel.

His party has won 56 seats, against the BJP's tally of 105 in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly.

"Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray had resolved to make a Shiv Sainik (a Sena member) chief minister, and the time for that has come now," the Rajya Sabha MP said.

"Shiv Sena has moved beyond portfolios in the state and at the Central level,or additional Legislative Council berths (as bargaining chips). We are talking about the chief minister's post," he said.