BOMBAY: The Shiv Sena-BJP alliance will form the first non-Congress government in Maharashtra with the governor, Dr. P.C. Alexander, inviting Manohar Joshi, the leader of the Alliance Legislature Group, to form
The government.
The decks for the alliance wresting power from the Congress were cleared after the CLP leader Sharad Pawar conveyed to the governor his decision not to insist on being invited to form the government despite being the leader of the single largest party with80 seats.
The governor also requested Joshi to prove on the floor of the legislative assembly within 15 days that he has the majority support in the Assembly. The oath of office and secrecy will be administered at a function at Shivaji Park at 6p.m. on March 14. The Sena- BJP alliance has already announced that Gopinath Munde will be sworn in as the deputy chief minister.
Pawar held consultation with the Prime Minister, P.V. Narasimha Rao, twice during the day before deciding not to stake his party’s claim to form the government.
At the CLP meeting Monday, Pawar was unanimously elected leader of the party’s legislative wing and was authorized to take a decision regard- ing staking claim for formation of the government.
Earlier, at the Sena-BJP Alliance Legislature Party (ALP) meeting at Sena Bhavan, Joshi was elected to head the alliance in the state legislature.
Meanwhile, the Union Civil sup- plies minister, Buta Singh, and the surface transport minister, Jagdish Tytler, will be the Central observers for the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) elections in Gujarat.
Article extracted from this publication >> March 17, 1995
