Asserting that it has not demanded any specific portfolios from Bharatiya Janata Party, the Shiv Sena said it will wait till the swearing-in of new chief minister before taking a final call on supporting its former ally.
Three MLAs abstained, while 20 legislators, most of them from Congress and the NCP, including Congress's Ashok Chavan and Vijay Wadettiwar, both former ministers, were absent during the trust vote.
Sushma Swaraj, Narendra Modi, Arun Jaitley, Jayalalithaa, Mulayam Singh or may be even Advani: positioning for prime ministership is the flavour of the current season, notes Neerja Chowdhury.
The BJP's oldest ally Shiv Sena remained silent on the performance of the National Democratic Alliance regime.
In a major setback to party founder Sharad Pawar, the Election Commission of India also allotted the NCP symbol 'Wall Clock' to the group led by Ajit Pawar.
Ajit Pawar has the support of more than 40 MLAs of the NCP, according to sources citing a letter submitted to Raj Bhavan.
After emerging as the single largest party but failing to secure a simple majority in the Kalyan-Dombivali Municipal Corporation elections, Shiv Sena on Monday started negotiations with Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, a party source said in Mumbai.
According to insiders, "talks are on" between the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena at "an exploratory level".
Raut said he will meet Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the coming days.
The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi on Sunday released its manifesto for the Maharashtra assembly polls, promising free cervical cancer vaccines for girls aged 9 to 16 and and two optional leave days for women employees during menstruation.
However, induction in the NCP-SP will come with riders, asserted the former Union minister.
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