Mumbai: With no single party getting a clear majority in the 288-seat Assembly, Maharashtra is headed towards one of three possibilities — the Shiv Sena and BJP stick to their pre-poll alliance and form a government, the Sena teams up with NCP and Congress, or finally, albeit an unlikely scenario, the NCP and BJP partner up to form a government.
At 11.45 pm, with two seats yet to be declared, the BJP had won 104 seats and was leading in one; the Sena won 56 seats. The NCP won 54 seats and the Congress 43.
The Sena has a clear advantage in terms of bargaining power. To put things in context, the BJP had won 122 seats in the 2014 Assembly elections.
The second possible combination is one which the Congress prefer; that of an NCP-Congress-Sena alliance. Sharad Pawar’s NCP has made significant gains, winning 54 compared to the 41 seats it won the last time. The Congress tally increased from 42 seats in 2014 to 43 this time.
Finally, if the Sena's demands get too much for the BJP to swallow, the possibility of an alliance between the NCP and BJP isn't out of the question.
"Sharad Pawar is a wily politician who has seen many alliances and many governments. If the Sena is too demanding, then the option of an NCP-BJP understanding can't be ruled out," a BJP leader said.
For Maharashtra, a key question is the impact the results will have on the political equation between BJP and the Sena. In 2014, the BJP won 122 seats in the state, while the Shiv Sena won 63, effectively making the Narendra Modi and Amit Shah-led party the 'big brother' in the alliance.
The relationship between the two parties has since been stormy, with the Sena repeatedly attacking the BJP on different fronts. For the NCP, too, particularly its chief Sharad Pawar, it was important to become the face of the opposition and ensure that the Congress, without a face of its own, takes a backseat.
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