Nearly 11 days after results of the Maharashtra assembly election were declared, there is still no government in India's third-largest state.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and its ally the Shiv Sena have reached an impasse over who holds the upper hand in the new government, leaving the opposition to wait and watch from the sidelines.
According to senior Congress leader and former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, the pre-poll alliance between the BJP and the Shiv Sena stands shattered.
There is a huge amount of distrust between the principal allies. We are awaiting the outcome of their bickering.Prithviraj Chavan, Former Maharashtra Chief Minister
With neither the BJP and the Shiv Sena willing to compromise, is there a possibility of a three-way alliance between the Sena, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Indian National Congress?
While the NCP and the Congress remain in constant touch with each other, they will wait for the BJP-Sena alliance to play its hand before making a move, Chavan told BloombergQuint.
If they fail to put a government in place, there are other possibilities. Let us wait for that moment when the BJP and the Shiv Sena agree to disagree.Prithviraj Chavan, Former Maharashtra Chief Minister
While the BJP and Shiv Sena try and work out a solution, the Congress will also be keeping an eye on its ally, the NCP. Back in October 2014, NCP leader Sharad Pawar was the first out of the gate to offer support to the BJP to form the government. Though back then all four parties fought separately, Chavan said a lot has changed in five years.
The way the central government has gone against Mr. Pawar, threatening other leaders with notices. The possibility of the NCP joining with the BJP doesn't look realistic. Whatever happened in 2014 is an old story.Prithviraj Chavan, Former Maharashtra Chief Minister
Watch the entire interview here:
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