Mumbai/Chandigarh: The Bharatiya Janata Party- Shiv Sena alliance on Thursday retained power in Maharashtra, albeit with a reduced majority, while it was a hung Assembly in Haryana where the saffron party emerged as the single largest party and Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) chief Dushyant Chautala and independents hold the key to government formation.
As the NCP led by the wily Sharad Pawar, 78, fared better than expected for the opposition in Maharashtra, the Sena is expected to drive a hard bargain with the BJP, which was expecting a emphatic victory.
The Sena insisted on a “50:50” power sharing formula for the two coalition partners.
In the first Assembly elections after the BJP’s triumph in the Lok Sabha polls in May, the saffron party’s electoral juggernaut met with some resistance in Maharashtra and Haryana with a resurgent Congress putting up a good showing in the northern state.
Though the BJP, which bagged 40 of the 90 seats at stake in Haryana and was six short of majority to retain power, its chief Amit Shah indicated the party will stake claim to form the next government.
The half-way mark is 46. (PTI)
