Modi party forced out in India’s richest state

MUMBAI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party was forced out of power on Tuesday (Nov 26) in Maharashtra state, home to the country's financial capital Mumbai, following the collapse of its short-lived coalition.

Hard-fought state elections last month saw Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) win the largest share of seats but not enough to form a government on its own, prompting weeks of haggling that culminated in the imposition of presidential rule on Maharashtra two weeks ago.

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The BJP managed to eke out a surprise agreement with a top leader from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Saturday, but victory was fleeting, after other NCP leaders denounced the deal, leading to its dissolution.

BJP lawmaker Devendra Fadnavis resigned as chief minister Tuesday, telling reporters that the party could not form a government.

Although the BJP had previously governed the country's richest state in a coalition with its right-wing regional ally Shiv Sena, the alliance broke up after the October election due to a power-sharing dispute.

Shiv Sena and its ideological rivals, the centre-left Indian National Congress, and the NCP are expected to stake a joint claim to form a government instead.

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"The fact that these parties, which have so little in common, are coming togethRead More – Source