Nomination of MLCs: Maharashtra Governor B S Koshyari should show ‘positive’ intent through actions, says Sanjay Raut

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Thursday claimed discussions were good between Maharashtra Governor B S Koshyari and a delegation led by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray over the state cabinet’s request for the approval of 12 names as MLCs, and Koshyari should show his “positive” intentions through his actions. Chief Minister Thackeray and senior ministers met Koshyari at the Raj Bhavan here on Wednesday and requested him to approve the 12 names sent by the state cabinet last year to be nominated as MLCs from the governor’s quota without further delay. “We expect the governor to take a decision soon on approving the 12 names for nomination to the Legislative Council, as recommended by the cabinet. He said he is positive about it. He should show that through his actions,” Raut told reporters. He said CM Thackeray, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and state Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat came out of the Raj Bhavan on Wednesday with a “positive energy”.

“I saw visuals of the meeting. Everyone had a cheerful mood. Maharashtra doesn’t have the tradition of power struggle between the Raj Bhavan and government. The relations between the two have always been harmonious,” said Raut, whose party shares power with the NCP and Congress in the state. He said the 12 persons, whose names have been recommended for nomination as MLCs, are working in social and political spheres of the state. “How can you deny them their rights? Are you under pressure?” the Rajya Sabha member sought to know. Asked about BJP state president Chandrakant Patil’s claim that the Shiv Sena was a “backstabber”, Raut asserted that his party never back-stabbed anyone. “What was spoken behind closed doors…how assurances given were overturned…we don’t want to get into it,” the Shiv Sena’s chief spokesperson said. After the Maharashtra Assembly polls in 2019, the Shiv Sena parted ways with long-term ally BJP over the issue of sharing the chief ministerial post. Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray then claimed that the BJP had agreed to share the chief minister’s post in Maharashtra during his talks with Union minister Amit Shah. The Thackeray-led party later forged an alliance with the NCP and Congress to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi government (MVA) in the state.