The Congress should not back the Shiv Sena and the NCP in Government formation in Maharashtra if it is not going to get the chief minister’s post on a rotational basis, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale said on Thursday.
Athawale’s comments came amid reports the Shiv Sena and the NCP may share the Chief Ministerial post for two-and- a-half years in the Government that the Congress is likely to join as the third player and may get the deputy Chief Minister’s post.
The Congress and the NCP are at present in the process of forging ties with the Shiv Sena to form the Government in the state,
which is under President’s rule since November 12. The Shiv Sena, which contested the October 21 Maharashtra Assembly polls with the BJP, walked away from its ally over the issue of sharing the Chief Ministerial post on a rotational basis for two-and-half years. The BJP had rejected the Shiv Sena’s demand for rotational Chief Ministership.