Wait till new Chief Minister takes oath, says Shiv Sena on supporting BJP

Mumbai: Asserting that it has not demanded any specific portfolios from BJP, the Shiv Sena on Tuesday said it will wait till the swearing-in of new Chief Minister before taking a final call on supporting its former ally.

"There is a lot of false news being spread in the media that we have demanded the post of the Deputy Chief Minister or some specific portfolios in return of our support to BJP. I want the media to stop focusing on baseless rumours. We have not demanded anything yet," Sena MP Sanjay Raut told reporters on the sidelines of his meet with party chief Uddhav Thackeray at the latter's residence.

Asked if the Sena will support its former ally in forming the state government, Raut chose to maintain silence.

"There is no point in saying anything at the moment. We will speak when the time comes. For now, please wait till the new CM takes oath on the 31st of this month," Raut said.

Notably, the Sena had on Monday spoken openly in favour of a BJP-led coalition government for the first time and today, in an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana', it praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for changing the cultural face of the country.

Senior Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi, who also met Uddhav today, told reporters that he had general discussions with the party chief and they did not discuss politics.

"We didn't meet for any special talks. I am like a family member to Uddhavji and it is not abnormal for me to visit him.

I can only say let BJP make the first move and then we will decide on our support to our former ally," Joshi said.