NCP chief Sharad Pawar (left) with PM Narendra ModiSources in the BJP on Sunday said the party could run a minority government in Maharashtra with outside support from the Sharad pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party.
The decision follows an unambiguous proposal from the NCP's Praful Patel who said his party will give unconditional support to the BJP, which is about 22 seats short of a simple majority in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly.
Highly-placed sources in the BJP also said that 44-year-old Devendra Fadnavis is likely to head the next government in Maharashtra. The party's Parliamentary Board is expected to ratify the decision in its meeting later on Sunday.
At 5.15 pm, the BJP had won 98 seats in the state and was leading on 25 seats. The Shiv Sena had won 49 and led on 12 seats while the NCP had won 33 seats and leading on eight.
"The NCP will support the BJP from outside. The voters have not given a clear verdict to any party in Maharashtra. The BJP has got most seats and we want stability in the state," Patel had said.
The NCP offer unsettled the positions taken by former partners, the BJP and the Shiv Sena, who were exploring the possibility of recementing their 25-year-old alliance which broke over sharing of seats before the October 15 polls.
The dramatic announcement came just before the BJP leadership began a meeting in New Delhi to analyse its spectacular showing in Maharashtra and Haryana and amid speculation of renewed bonhomie between the BJP and the Shiv Sena.
With the NCP's expected 42 seats -- officials continue to count the votes in nearly 70 constituencies -- coming its way, the BJP can easily cross the threshold.
The Shiv Sena, which could end up with 61 seats, had earlier said that it was ready to make up with the BJP, a sentiment shared by some of its leaders, including party patriarch L K Advani, who called for a BJP-Sena rapprochement.
"I hope the BJP and Shiv Sena will come together," said Advani, one of the one of the architects of the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in the 1980s and now a member of his party's Margdarshak Mandal.
The BJP, which until now had played second fiddle to the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, credited the showing in the state to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popular appeal.
"Some people rejected the Modi wave after the bypoll results last month. But I want to tell them that the Modi wave is still on like a tsunami and still capable of decimating the BJP's opponents," BJP chief Amit Shah said during a press conference in New Delhi.
The Congress, which along with the NCP had ruled Maharashtra for 15 years until their alliance collapsed before this election, is expected to finish third in the state with 44 seats.
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