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Anant Geete, Shiv Sena's only member in the Union Cabinet, on Wednesday said he will not resign as heavy industries minister after his party decided to continue in National Democratic Alliance (NDA) despite parting ways with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for Maharashtra polls.
Asked whether he will resign, Geete said, "Certainly not".
"It (the alliance) will remain intact at the Centre," he said.
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BJP earlier snapped ties with its oldest partner Shiv Sena after failure of talks on seat-sharing in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, ending a 25-year-old ideological alliance that had survived various vicissitudes.
Geete said he had spoken to Party chief Uddhav Thackeray on the issue.
"I have spoken to Uddhav Thackeray. There is no question of resigning. We are a part of the NDA. The government is of NDA and the Shiv Sena has a significant contribution in the (formation of) NDA government. Forty two Members of Parliament (MPs) have been elected from Maharashtra. The Shiv Sena has a contribution in that. This is why the question of resigning does not arise," Geete, who is the Union heavy industries and public enterprises minister, told reporters here at the launch of the cleanliness drive for the Swachh Bharat Mission.
Buoyed by the Lok Sabha results in which the BJP-Sena alliance won 42 of the 48 seats, BJP upped the ante and demanded 135 assembly seats which the Sena was not willing to give. However, Sena Said it would leave only 119 seats but later agreed to concede a few more seats.
