'Agneepath', says Sanjay Raut as Sena treads tough path with Cong-NCP

Sanjay Raut

Ailing Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Wednesday tweeted the word 'agneepath' three times, apparently to indicate difficult path ahead for his party in its efforts to form government in Maharashtra with the Congress and NCP, its political rivals till recently. Raut, who on Tuesday quoted poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan to reaffirm his party's resolve to succeed and not give up, on Wednesday tweeted: "Agneepath, agneepath, agneepath..."(path of fire), without elaborating. 'Agneepath' is a famous poem by renowned literarian Harivansh Rai Bachchan.

It was also the title of a 1990s Hindi blockbuster featuring megastar Amitabh Bachchan, which depicted how the main protagonist literally traversed the path of fire in his quest for justice. Raut, the 57-year-old Rajya Sabha member and Shiv Sena's spokesperson, who underwent an angioplasty procedure on Monday, has been tweeting from his hospital bed here over the current political situation in Maharashtra.

As part of its government formation efforts, the Shiv Sena, which espouses the Hindutva ideology, is trying to find a common ground with the Congress and NCP, the parties against which it contested the last month's Assembly elections. On Tuesday, President's rule was imposed in Maharashtra after Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari in a report to the Centre stated that formation of a stable government was impossible in the current situation despite all his efforts.

The development came as the political impasse continued since the declaration of Assembly poll results more than three backs back, with the Congress and NCP saying they had not yet taken any decision on Shiv Sena's proposal of forming a government, and will hold further discussions. NCP president Sharad Pawar on Tuesday said his party and ally Congress will discuss and evolve a consensus on what should be the policies and programmes if the Shiv Sena was to be supported.

Congress leader Ahmed Patel insisted that no final decision can be taken without formulation of a common minimum programme by the three parties. Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray said his party and the Congress-NCP have different views on several issues, and that they will work out and stake claim for government formation.

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