Sena demands unacceptable, we don't want mid-term Maharashtra polls: Shah

BJP president Amit Shah on Wednesday rejected the opposition's criticism of President's rule in Maharashtra as "outright politics" to gain public sympathy, and said Shiv Sena's demands, including sharing the chief minister's post, were "unacceptable" to his party.

In his statement and tweets, Shah, also the Union home minister, said he was not in favour of mid-term elections in the state and noted that all parties have six months to stake claim to form government if they manage a majority.

In his first comments on the political crisis in the state, he rejected Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray's claim that the BJP had agreed to share the CM's post with the ally, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi many times and he "at least 100 times" had said in public during the assembly elections campaign that Devendra Fadnavis will again head the government if the saffron alliance gets a majority.

The Sena never questioned their assertions then but has now put forth demands which were unacceptable to the BJP, Shah said. "We got people's mandate but now our ally has made demands which are unacceptable to us."

He, however, in the statement did not touch on the details of the agreement between the two allies of 30 years, saying it is not the values of the BJP to bring to public what has been discussed in private.

Shah accused the opposition of doing "outright politics" over the Centre's decision to impose President's rule in Maharashtra, and asserted that if there was any party which has "suffered" it is the BJP as it has lost its caretaker government headed by Fadnavis.

Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari gave the parties 18 days to stake claim for forming government and then invited them as well but, Shah said in a series of tweets, none of them could prove a majority.

"Even today if any party has a majority, then it may meet the governor to stake claim," Shah said.

"The opposition's reaction to President's rule in Maharashtra is outright politics. The honourable governor has never compromised with constitutional norms," he said.

In a separate tweet posted by the BJP, Shah said he is not in favour of mid-term polls in the state.

He said President's rule was necessitated so that opposition could not accuse the governor of running an "indirect BJP rule" in the state and added that everybody now has six months to meet the governor for staking a claim if they have a majority.

The Centre on Tuesday brought Maharashtra under President's rule following a recommendation from the governor. The Sena and the Congress have attacked the governor for recommending President's rule in the state and accused him of working at the behest of the BJP.

Koshyari had invited the three largest political parties, the BJP, the Sena and the NCP, to put forth claim to form government but all three of them expressed their inability.

The state has plunged into a political crisis after the Sena broke its ties with the BJP after the latter did not agree to its demand to share the post of chief minister with it.

Sena president Thackeray has claimed that the BJP had agreed to "50-50 deal" in power, including the CM's post, and he has now been negotiating with the rival Congress-NCP alliance to form government.

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

The BJP-Sena combine headed the last government with Fadnavis as chief minister.