Maharashtra trust vote: Shiv Sena says will not vote in favour of BJP

Mumbai: Shiv Sena leader Ramdas Kadam on Wednesday said that the party will be voting against Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who will be seeking vote of confidence in the state assembly on Wednesday.

"Uddhav Thackeray has decided that we will sit in the opposition. We have being trying our best to sort things out from the past month, but the BJP is not ready to change. Will vote against them in the trust vote," said Kadam.

"Until things are decided in Maharashtra, no one from the Shiv Sena will go to Delhi and we will sit in opposition from today itself," he added.

State Governor C. Vidyasagar Rao has already administered the oath of office to Jeeva Pandu Gavit as pro-tem Speaker of the state assembly at the Raj Bhavan here.

Read: Maharashtra trust vote: Floor test for Devendra Fadnavis, ‘support us or abstain’ is BJP’s appeal

On the very first day, the Shiv Sena had given clear indications of its aggressive political stance with its newly elected MLAs criticizing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Minister Eknath Khadse outside the Vidhan Bhavan for his decision to permit the use of the Urdu language in Marathi-centric schools.

This session is considered to be crucial for Fadnavis, as the current picture about support being extended to his government from outside is still not clear.

One time BJP ally Shiv Sena is changing its stance from time to time.

Minister of State (MoS) for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Pratap Rudy had said on Tuesday that there is no rift between both parties, and added that the BJP would accept the support of anyone who is in favour of the development of Maharashtra.

Read: Shiv Sena slams BJP over NCP support, likens Pawar's party to mouse

According to reports, intense alliance-linked negotiations are still on between the BJP and the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra.

Earlier on Sunday, the Shiv Sena had abstained from attending the expansion of the Union Cabinet in New Delhi. The Shiv Sena had also asked its nominee Anil Desai to return to Mumbai from the national capital.

However, BJP has crossed the first hurdle of the day with the Shiv Sena and Congress withdrawing their candidates against the BJP's candidate Haribhau Bagde for the speaker’s post.

"Uddhav ji has decided to support BJP's Haribhau Bagde. We withdrew our speaker candidate Vijay Ahuti," Ramdas Kadam said.

NCP's Chhagan Bhujbal said that the party will back the BJP government in the interests of providing the state with a stable government.

Read: Maharashtra scene set for election of Assembly speaker post today

The BJP and Shiv Sena snapped their 25-year alliance in September ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly polls over a seat-sharing disagreement.

At the moment, the BJP is 22 short of the halfway mark in the Maharashtra Assembly.

Following the polls, the BJP had emerged as the single largest party with 122 seats in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly.

The Shiv Sena finished second with 63 seats. The NCP, which emerged victorious in 41 seats, has offered the BJP 'external support' to form the government in the state.