Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut and newly elected MP Arvind Sawant attended the meeting on behalf of Shiv Sena (UBT).
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray skipped the Opposition INDIA bloc meeting in Delhi on Wednesday, a party leader said. This comes a day after the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance in Maharashtra pulled off a commendable performance by winning 30 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut and newly elected MP Arvind Sawant attended the meeting on behalf of Shiv Sena (UBT) which was held at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence in New Delhi.
“Uddhav ji is keen on taking steps towards staking a claim over forming the government at the Centre because he feels that the people of the country have given us a mandate against the fascist force and to form the government at the Centre. Even if we do not have enough numbers to cross the magic figures right now, we can have it in the future. As an official representative of Sena, Sawant ji presented this during the INDIA meeting and most of the members resonated and agreed with this,” Raut, who is also the chief spokesperson of the Sena UBT, said in New Delhi after the meeting.
Even as the NDA led by BJP decided to form the government at their meeting, which also took place in New Delhi, Raut said that the INDIA bloc will take efforts to achieve the required numbers to form government at the Centre.
“We attended the meeting at Kharge ji’s house along with all the members of the INDIA bloc. It was decided that since the mandate of the people during the Lok Sabha polls was against the increasing fascism and dictatorship as well as those destroying the Constitution, we will move forward with fulfilling the people’s desire to change the government (NDA government led by BJP) at the appropriate time. Today they held a meeting and with consensus among NDA allies, they have decided to form the government. We will see how long the consensus in the NDA lasts. We will come to know this in the next six months,” Raut said. He added that several NDA alliance partners were in touch with the INDIA bloc and hinted that they may switch sides in the next few months.
On Tuesday, after results showed that the BJP would need the support of its allies to form government, Uddhav had said that the INDIA bloc should stake claim on forming the government by uniting the opposition and said he would attend the meeting in meeting in Delhi. However he skipped the meting at the last minute.
A senior leader of the Sena UBT said on Wednesday that Uddhav was keen on staking claim to form a government at the Centre and was holding talks with several Opposition leaders, including Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee but couldn’t go to Delhi to attend the meeting.
“Uddhavji has spoken to several leaders over the phone, including Mamataji, and is taking an effort to form the government by uniting the Opposition parties and those leaders who were troubled by the BJP. Our representatives are already attending the meeting and if the discussion is positive, only then will Uddhav go to Delhi,” a Shiv Sena (UBT) leader had said prior to the meeting on Wednesday.
