NCP colluded with BJP to impose President's rule in Maharashtra: Prithviraj Chavan

Blaming NCP for severing ties with Congress, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan has alleged that Sharad Pawar's party "colluded" with BJP for getting the state placed under President's rule. "The NCP demanded that the Chief Minister's post be shared, according to which each party will have its chief minister for two-and-a-half years. Earlier, it was the party getting the maximum number of seats that got the chief ministership," he told a leading news channel in an interview.

Chavan said the alliance ended on the grounds of demand for chief ministership and claimed that NCP leader and state's former Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar put a pre-condition seeking to contest 144 of the 288 Assembly seats in the state, according to a release issued by the channel. He alleged that NCP "colluded" with BJP to overthrow the state government just a few days before the Assembly polls. "A game plan was worked out between BJP and NCP to pull the plug of the state government and the Governor will then recommend President's Rule in the state," he said. Congress and NCP have been running the government in Maharashtra for the last 15 years but their alliance broke up last week over issues particularly seat-sharing between them.