Sena-NCP-Cong Parade 162 MLAs In Show Of Strength

Hours after they staked claim to form the government in Maharashtra, MLAs of the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress claimed the support of over 162 MLAs as they gathered at a five-star hotel here on Monday evening in a massive show of strength ahead of the Supreme Court’s order on government formation in the state.

“We are here together for people of Maharashtra. A government was formed in the state without a majority. Karnataka, Goa and Manipur, BJP didn’t have a majority anywhere but formed the government,” NCP chief Sharad Pawar addressed the gathering the MLAs of the three parties assembled at the hotel Grand Hyatt.

Pawar expressed confidence that in the floor-test in the Legislative Assembly the alliance will have the support of more than 162 MLAs and that it will form the government and will work in the interest of people

“There will not be any problem in proving our majority. The one who is suspended from the party cannot give any orders. On the day of the floor test, I will bring more than 162 MLAs. This is not Goa, this is Maharashtra,” a combative Pawar said.

“We are here together for people of Maharashtra. A government was formed in the state without a majority. Karnataka, Goa, and Manipur, BJP didn’t have majority anywhere but formed a government,” said Pawar.

Slamming his nephew Ajit Pawar for breaking away from the NCP to ally with the BJP to form the government, the NCP chief said: “Without a majority, they have installed the government. For the first time in history, the government is installed like this. Ajit Pawar didn’t have the authority to make decisions and he made his own decision.”

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray said: “Our fight is not just for power, our fight is for ‘Satyamev Jayate.’ The more you try to break us, the more we will unite.”

The assembled MLAs also took a pledge to not “do anything which will benefit BJP.”

“I swear that under the leadership of Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray & Sonia Gandhi, I will be honest to my party. I won’t get lured by anything. I will not do anything which will benefit BJP” they pledged.

Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Ashok Chavan were present at the meet.

Congress leader Ashok Chavan said: “We are more than 162, not just 162. We all will be a part of the government. I thank Sonia Gandhi who allowed for this alliance to stop BJP. Governor should invite us to form a government.”

Earlier in the day, NCP legislative party leader Jayant Patil along with Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde, Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan and others visited Raj Bhawan and gave a letter showing the strength of 162 MLAs to the officials at Raj Bhavan.

After which Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut invited Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to “come and watch” the show of strength of the three parties.

“We are all one and together, watch our 162 together for the first time at Grand Hyatt at 7 pm, come and watch yourself @maha_governor,” Raut tweeted.

The Supreme Court earlier today reserved the order on a joint petition filed by Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP against the decision of Koshyari to invite BJP to form government in the state.

The petitions were filed after BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis took oath for the second consecutive term as the state Chief Minister, with NCP’s Ajit Pawar as his Deputy Chief Minister on Saturday morning. This came when deliberations among Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena on the government formation had reached the final stage.

The order on whether the floor test will be conducted for proving the majority of the BJP-led Fadnavis government is expected to be pronounced at 10:30 am Tuesday.