Even after the declaration of Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha elections on October 24, 2019—where BJP won the most number of seats—still no government has been formed in the state. Even after winning most seats, the BJP could not gain a majority. As per the election results, BJP won 105 seats; Shiv Sena won 56 seats, Congress won 44, NCP won 54 seats, followed by others, including 13 independents. After the results, it was expected that the BJP would form the government as the BJP and Shiv Sena fought in an alliance, and together, they had passed the majority mark, but there was a twist when the Shiv Sena asked for the Chief Minister position.
Shiv Sena stated that before the election, the BJP had promised a 50-50 formula on the basis of which they fought the elections together. However, after the elections, there is a possibility that the Shiv Sena top command would have thought that if once BJP forms the government, then the agreed promise might not be fulfilled. Hence, to protect the agreed terms, the alliance partners might have asked assurances of the agreed terms before forming the government, which might have led to disagreements between the popular Saffron allies. And now, the situation is such that a Presidential rule scenario is looming over Maharashtra unless someone comes in power.
In the present scenario, the Governor of Maharashtra Mr Bhagat Singh Koshyari is holding meetings with almost every major political party in Maharashtra to discuss government formation and giving the political parties a chance to prove their majority. The BJP, during a press conference, stated that they are not in a position to prove majority, and in such a situation, Shiv Sena is holding talks with its rivals such as NCP and Congress to form an alliance and come in power. Due to this, Sharad Pawar, the leader of NCP, held a meeting with Sonia Gandhi to discuss a possible alliance with Shiv Sena. Although no official news has been announced, as per few media reports, Sonia Gandhi has held talks with Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray as well.
As per the reports, the main problem Congress might be facing in forming an alliance is that the Congress does not align itself with the ideology of Shiv Sena, and if the alliance happens, then there is a possibility that this might affect them in the Jharkhand elections.
This event is also being termed as a caution for other allies of BJP too. I believe that the BJP, in its ambition, has marginalized its alliance parties, due to which, there has been growing resentment against the single largest party. There could be many reasons for it, such as BJP’s amount of resources at disposal, as well as their control over government agencies, where they are accused of using it for their interests. Such resentment among allies is a concern for BJP.
So, as the current situation stands, if no party can prove a majority, then maybe soon, the President’s rule will be imposed in the state. Every political party is also making sure that their representatives or independent supporters do not switch sides. After looking into all these scenarios, I think it is better to come up with a solution as soon as possible so that a government is formed, and the period of political uncertainty is over.