The BJP and Shiv Sena negotiations are now somewhat reminiscent of their post-election government formation negotiations in 2014
BJP and Shiv Sena are engaged in a game of Grim Trigger strategy in the state now
Mr Thackeray is not your regular bigot, claiming that people turn into cannibals by eating eggs or that caressing cows can cure cancer
Thackeray chaired a meeting of all party MLAs at his residence 'Matoshree' in suburban Bandra, where the legislators also reiterated that the formula of 'equal sharing of posts and responsibilities'
Now, he will have to prove his credentials as a leader who can navigate a new political path with parties like the Congress and NCP, which are ideologically different
Malik, NCP's spokesperson, said the party will not proceed with its decision till the Congress leadership takes a call on government formation in the state
Meanwhile, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said his party will take a decision pertaining to government formation in Maharashtra only after holding discussions with Congress.
He also took a dim view of the governor giving 72 hours to the BJP to stake the claim, but just 24 hours to the Uddhav Thackeray-led party.
On November 10, Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari had invited Shiv Sena to inform him if it could form government
As no party had come forward to form the government, the governor decided to explore the possibility of formation of government on Saturday
However, BJP leader and senior minister in the outgoing govt Girish Mahajan said his party was not ready to discuss sharing of the Maharashtra CM's post
Fadnavis blamed ally Shiv Sena for the impasse over government formation after the Assembly polls
He also accused BJP leaders of saying that he had lied on talks about power-sharing and said he will not tolerate it
Gadkari, however, on Thursday had stressed that the BJP should get the post of chief minister because it has won more seats than the Shiv Sena.
Sena said the BJP should approach the Uddhav Thackeray-led party only if it agrees to share the chief minister's post with it
Maharashtra govt formation: Here's what has transpired since the Maharashtra Assembly election result was announced on October 24
The BJP and the Shiv Sena are locked in a bitter tussle over sharing of the chief minister's post and ministerial portfolios in new government in the state.
The 29-year-old Thackeray won from Mumbai's Worli assembly constituency, beating Nationalist Congress Party's (NCP) Suresh Mane by a margin of over 67,000 votes
It owes Rs 15.82 crore to Bank of Maharashtra, Rs 38.63 crore to State Bank and Rs 13.18 crore to Bank of India.
The Sena indirectly blamed the BJP and the CM for the current political situation.