Political wrangling over formation of government in Maharashtra continued on Sunday even 10 days after the assembly poll verdict gave enough numbers to the BJP and the Shiv Sena which are unable to bury their differences over power sharing, a delay resulting into churning out of various speculations about likely political re-alignments.
For the record, the Sena on Sunday escalated its rhetoric with senior leader Sanjay Raut claiming the party would soon have its chief minister with the support of "170 MLAs".
While Raut continued taking sharp barbs at the BJP, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis exuded confidence that the impasse will end soon and a new government will be in place.
On the other hand, Sena president Uddhav Thackeray did not commit any deadline to formation of government.
In the recently-held polls, the BJP (105) and the Sena (56) collectively won 161 seats in the 288-member House.
In another development, the Sena on Sunday appeared to have reached out to the NCP whose chief Sharad Pawar is scheduled to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi on Monday.
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Sena MP Raut sent a message to senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar which was disclosed to reporters by the latter.
The message reads :"Namaskar mi Sanjay Raut. Jai Maharashtra".
The former deputy chief minister Pawar said, "This means I should call him. I will call and check."
"The deadlock will end soon and a new government will be formed soon."