Mumbai: With the BJP falling short of the halfway-mark on its own, its ally and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday sought to strike a hard bargain and said it was time to implement "fifty-fifty" formula for power-sharing, which he said was decided with Amit Shah earlier.
The BJP and Shiv Sena together were heading for a majority as the counting was going on Thursday. Addressing a press conference, when asked about which party will get the chief minister's post, Thackeray said, "It is time to remind the BJP about the formula arrived at when BJP chief Amit Shah visited my home....we had decided on 50:50 formula for the alliance."
"We had agreed to contest fewer seats (than the BJP), but I cannot accommodate the BJP every time. I should allow my party to grow," Uddhav said, indicating that he would drive a hard bargain.
As per the latest trends and results, the BJP had won or was leading on 101 seats and Sena on 57 seats out of the total 288.
While the two parties can form the government comfortably, the BJP fell short of its target of reaching near the half-way mark on its own, giving more leverage to the Sena. The outside possibility of the Sena allying with the NCP and the Congress has also given Thackeray more pull.
The Sena chief added that he will discuss the results with his party leaders and BJP leaders and arrive at the power-sharing formula in a peaceful and transparent manner before the alliance stakes claim to form the next government.
Describing the mandate as an "eye-opener for many", Thackeray said the people of the state had kept democracy alive. "Now nobody will question EVMs," he said, in reference to opposition Congress-NCP faring better than expected in the elections.
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