Amid power tussle between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena in Maharashtra over government formation, Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Wednesday hinted at possible options if the spat between the two parties continues.
NCP chief spokesperson Nawab Malik said that if BJP is not able to form government in Maharashtra, then his party will look for options. He also added that till now, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pawar haven't yet spoken to each other, as stated in media reports.
Malik further said that the party is currently assessing the situation in Maharashtra and if at all a government is not formed, an alternative can be thought of.
NCP, however, is less likely to support BJP in any way. Top party leaders - Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel - have made it clear that they are not interested in government formation and are happy with the role of opposition.
The tussle between BJP and Shiv Sena has delayed the formation of new government even after six days of the election results being announced. Sena demands the 50:50 formula to implemented in state, under which the party's CM-elect will get the top post for 2.5 years out of the 5-year tenure. However, BJP is not ready to accept the demand.
In the Assembly election, BJP emerged as the single largest party with 105 MLAs, but failed to reach the halfway-mark to prove majority. They had a pre-poll alliance with Shiv Sena which got 55 seats.